If you’re like me and consider yourself a fan of anything cyberpunk, you could be wondering what happened to Tron. Tron: Legacy was the latest installment in the franchise, and proved to possibly reboot the series with a new aesthetic and direction that caused the film to gross nearly three times its budget. Tron 3 would be the next film in the series, but little has been said by Disney.
Tron: Legacy is the continuation of the series from the series’ initial launch in the 80s, which has only been supplemented with the occasional video game or even book. Tron is the story of Jeff Bridges, who plays as computer genius Kevin Flynn as he invents a computer game which leads to the discovery of technology that actually takes him into the computer. The computer is stylized as a cybernetic, cyberpunk, fascinating-looking world that contrasts bright colors against a dark background, and really served to define the franchise.
Tron: Legacy released in 2011, was the continuation of the original film, and continued the story more than 20 years after Kevin Flynn had gone missing. Sam Flynn, Kevin’s son, is eventually pulled into the computer and enters Tron itself and attempts to save his dad. His dad reveals that he found a new type of human life, called the ISO, and the ISO could potentially change the way humanity sees the world. Due to some circumstances, Sam is unable to escape with his dad. It is assumed that Tron 3 would pick up where Tron: Legacy left off, explaining the effects of the end of Tron 3 have changed the world or what happens to Kevin.
Since then, Tron has had no official word spoken upon it by Disney. However, a 3d-cartoon with nice cel
shading was released in late 2012 into early 2013 named Tron: Uprising, which is an individual companion story about what happens to the hero Tron during the time that Kevin Flynn had gone missing. The series is a visual masterpiece and expands upon the effects of Tron, since it 18 episodes to tell the story of which; some new, superpower-type effects are shown to be possessed by some of the “programs” which exist in the world of Tron: Uprising, and are great for anyone looking to sate their thirst for more Tron lore. Tron: Uprising only lasted one season with 18 episodes, airing on Disney XD, before Disney eventually pulled the plug on the series and canceled it. Since Tron: Legacy has already been out for 5 years, Tron 3 would be able to deliver much more stunning visual effects thanks to the advancement of technology. This technology should be apparent when the new James Cameron Avatar movies release within the next three or four years. Avatar is also part of Disney, which could transition the technology over for use in Tron.
Since then, only rumors of Tron 3 have been spread throughout the internet. Nothing official has been said by Disney, but looking around through some search engines reveal that Disney has no interest in Tron at the current time. At least, not releasing a movie; a runner-type game called Tron RUNr has been released on Steam, the Xbox One market, and for the Playstation 4 on the Playstation Store. Only digital copies are available, but this game could potentially serve as a gage for interest for releasing more Tron franchises.
Disney seems silly to not capitalize upon the cyberpunk hype, or perhaps they are biding their time and know the nature of the game and waiting for a cyberpunk boom. Cyberpunk seems to be a huge topic, with games such as Deus Ex,Far Cry: Blood Dragon, and upcoming game Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt RED focusing on the theme of a dark society outfitted with sleek aesthetics, and where robots blend in with society. Cyberpunk seems to be a more recurring theme, and most cyberpunk games do quite well for their releases.
I also believe it is in our best interest to wait for Disney to figure the time is right and release a great product. Part of what made Tron: Legacy so great is that the setting was so different from anything else at the time, and really helped to introduce fans to a franchise that had been around for more than 25 years. Maybe Disney could be waiting another 25 years to introduce even more fans to the franchise and bring old fans back, but I hope that would not be the case. However, assuming Disney assumes the time is right to release a new Tron 3 movie within the next decade, where there will still be interest, it would be an outstanding movie. I cannot think of a bad Disney movie, and Disney is going to have more resources for advertising and producing quality products than ever before with their acquisition of Star Wars. Perhaps after Star Wars, Tron 3 could pave the way into becoming the newest huge Disney franchise since it will be more with the time.
Really hope that Tron 3 is officially declared by Disney.
Very surprised at Disney’s attitude for a film they’re guaranteed to make money on.
“Would” have made money on.
If Tron Legacy 2 had come out 2012’ish they would have done killer in the theaters.
At this point it has been 6 1/2 years and nobody cares anymore sadly but the die hard fans.
Legacy made $400 million dollars. Tron Uprising had a huge audience until they stupidly moved it to 12AM and killed it.
If they hadn’t given up on the cartoon and put out the sequel by 2013, we would probably be discussing the upcoming third movie being released this Thanksgiving.
Can’t believe they thought Alice in Wonderland had a bigger and more loyal fanbase than Tron.
Call yourself a ‘fan’ yet describe Tron Legacy, incorrectly….Sam does not ‘enter’ Tron (you must be confusing it with cyberporn as opposed to cyberpunk 😉 ). Tron is a programme.
When Tron Legacy came out winter 2010 and I went to see it, I had absolutely no idea how awesome that movie was going to be.
Next to the experience of Avatar in theaters in 2009, Tron Legacy is the best 3D experience that I have ever had.
It is important to remember how amazing and powerful the soundtrack was in that movie too.
Even though it made $400 million dollars, I knew once Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilms we would never see another Tron movie again.