Joseph Kosinski Explains Why TRON: ARES Isn’t a Sequel to TRON: LEGACY
More than a decade after Tron: Legacy hit theaters, the Grid finally powered back on with Tron: Ares. But if you thought is was a direct continuation of Tron: Legacy, its director Joseph Kosinski doesn’t see it that way.
The filmmaker has now weighed in on the latest chapter of the franchise and made it clear why he views the new movie as something entirely different from the sequel fans once hoped he’d make.
The Tron franchise kicked off in 1982 and took a long break before Disney brought it back in 2010 with Tron: Legacy, directed by Kosinski. Neither film set the box office on fire, but both developed loyal cult followings.
For years, fans believed a third film was inevitable, especially with Kosinski developing Tron: Ascension, a project that ultimately stalled and was reworked into Tron: Ares with Jared Leto taking the lead.
That shift resulted in a movie far removed from Kosinski’s original plans. Speaking recently with Empire, Kosinski opened up about Tron: Ares and why he doesn’t consider it a true sequel.
"I don’t really see it as a sequel. This definitely used elements of a movie I worked on, called 'Tron: Ascension,' in terms of maybe some of the set-pieces and visuals, but it really inverted the story and told it from a completely different point of view.
"So I see it more like a parallel story as opposed to a sequel. But I’m thrilled that what Steve Lisberger created in 1982 still resonates today."
While Tron: Ares does reference characters and events from Tron: Legacy and even teases the possible return of Sam and Quorra, Kosinski’s perspective makes sense. His version of a third film never reached the starting line, and what audiences ultimately got was a reimagined take rather than a continuation of his story.
Looking back on making Tron: Legacy, Kosinski reflected on how rare that creative freedom feels now.
"I now realise how lucky I was that Disney gave me the freedom on that film. I don’t know if that would happen today. They wanted me to go for it, hiring Daft Punk and a bunch of actors that hadn’t really done big films before, and the whole crew was very green."
"It was my first time on a film set. But in some ways, I think what makes the film so unique is that we didn’t know what the rules were. We just did it."
For many fans, the hope was that Tron: Ares would perform well enough to finally open the door for the long-awaited follow-up to Tron: Legacy. Instead, the franchise feels like it’s gone for good.
Tron: Ares struggled commercially, earning a 53% score on Rotten Tomatoes and bringing in $142.2 million worldwide, results that firmly placed it in flop territory. One insider summed up the troubled development bluntly in an October report.
"There was no specific vision, to be honest," the source said. "The idea that Disney would spend a quarter of a billion dollars on a Jared Leto film that is a franchise that hasn’t worked in four decades is insane."
Even so, box office returns might not have been the only motivation. According to sources close to the project, the movie may have served another purpose.
"Those close to the project believe that ultimately Tron: Ares was an advertisement for the Disney theme park rides (which was also one of the catalysts as to why Tron: Ares was made)."
Whether Tron continues on screen remains an open question.