The Hollywood Reporter‘s Rebecca Ford wrote on Friday that Disney would not be going forward with plans for Tron 3, the sequel to 2010’s Tron: Legacy.
The news was surprising. While Tron: Legacy wasn’t the groundbreaking film that the 1982 original was, the sequel was a box-office hit, grossing more than $400 million. Two members of its cast, Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde, were set to return (with Jared Leto and Olivia Munn mentioned as possible additions), along with director Joseph Kosinski, and it really seemed like there was interest from fans in getting a third installment.
I was a huge fan of Tron: Legacy. It was entertaining, well-acted and was beautifully shot. The original Tron was such a technical achievement in filmmaking, so I was nervous when I heard a sequel was being made. But I thought Tron: Legacy did an excellent job in continuing the story and looking damn good doing so.
Did the movie have its problems? Yes. It was admittedly weird to see Jeff Bridges’ face digitally mastered during the movie’s opening scene, the plot was a tad thin and it was hard to care about everything that happened outside of the virtual reality world. That’s just nitpicking though. The movie still kicked ass.
The visuals were spectacular. Kosinski’s background in digital animation was apparent, as the effects — especially the classic light-cycle racing scenes — looked futuristic, yet somehow real. My main complaint in watching Kosinski’s next film, Oblivion, was that the plot borrowed far too much from the science fiction genre. For instance, the scene where Tom Cruise met the other version of himself felt way too similar to Moon, more like a lifted plot device than a new spin on that idea.
https://youtu.be/a2H6TRdHF_s
Where Tron: Legacy deservedly gets the most credit is with its soundtrack. The film’s producers somehow managed to get French electronic music duo Daft Punk to score the entire movie, and holy shit, was it marvelous. If you would have asked me before the film came out who my dream composers for the project would be, it would have been them.
The soundtrack perfectly captured a video game feel with the film being cut to the music. Not only is it a great score, but it’s one of the best soundtracks of all-time. I don’t think I would have enjoyed this movie nearly as much if it wasn’t for the banging sounds that Daft Punk created. There really isn’t a bad track on the album. The cancellation of the potential Tron sequel completely squashes the hopes that we’d get another soundtrack from the duo, which might be the biggest disappointment of them all.
Another bummer is we won’t get another Daft Punk appearance as club DJs in the film.
The cast also featured a heavily underrated Michael Sheen performance. Sheen played Castor, a flamboyant villain who looked like a David Bowie clone. Although Castor was killed in Tron: Legacy, I was hoping somehow we would get to see the character to return in some shape or another.
Tron: Legacy had such an expansive playground for the characters that it’s a downright shame we won’t get to see them explore it further. This might have been wishful thinking, but I was hoping with all the expanded universe films we’re getting these days, that Tron might be getting one of its own. The open ending with Sam (Hedlund) and Quorra (Wilde) now out of the game left endless possibilities to what they could have done next. What event would lead them back into the Tron world? Would more characters somehow escape into the real world? We may never know.
While Tron 3 is officially dead for now, Ford’s report suggests it’s possible Disney is letting the franchise cool down for a while before bringing it back at a later date, after adaptations like The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast are finished. With the disappointment of Tomorrowland, I’m sure the studio may not have wanted to take another risk on a big-budget live-action feature, especially in the science fiction genre. If that’s the case, oh boy, that’s disappointing.
If the Tron universe is explored again one day, I’ll be the first person in line to buy tickets. But if this is the end, I’m happy to say two excellent films have been made.
