Walt Disney Pictures
It’s been over four years since Tron: Legacy came out. The long-awaited sequel wasn’t a mega hit, but it did decently at the box-office, and presumably sold enough toys and merchandise to help make the kids tv show happen, TRON: Uprising. As for a third picture in the Disney franchise, the studio was certainly in no rush to get it off the ground. For the past year or two there hasn’t been much news regarding the project, but now there is: TRON 3 is a go.
According to a local Vancouver blog, VanCity Buz, the film will shoot in Vancouver this fall. The blog also says that Garrett Hedlund is returning to play everyone’s favorite hero, Sam Flynn, which is disappointing. Hedlund has shown he’s more than a pretty face since TRON: Legacy. With On the Road, Inside Llewyn Davis, and Unbroken, the star displayed a considerable amount of range, little of which we see in TRON: Legacy.
Hedlund isn’t the only talent who has grown since the sequel. Badass Digest confirmed both VanCity Buz’s news report and that Joseph Kosinski will return to the direct. The TRON: Legacy director made considerable improvements with his second feature, Oblivion, a gorgeous sci-fi film that overcame its wonky script. Kosinski has said again and again he’d have the right script to make TRON 3, and hopefully he’s got one.
TRON: Legacy is a fine movie. There’s some great design work, a sweet score from Daft Punk, and it finishes strong. It’s perfectly enjoyable, but there’s a reason why nobody has really been clamoring for the sequel. In the age of Marvel, the 100 DC Comics movies coming out, and YA franchises, TRON feels like the little guy. It’s not a property a lot of people are going to get psyched about.
Plus, seeing a promising actor and director return to this so-so franchise isn’t really exciting news. Maybe if Disney announces that Olivia Wilde will star in the film then I’ll get onboard, because she’s the heart and charm of TRON: Legacy. There’s no doubt a movie can rest on her shoulders. If you don’t recall the ending of Legacy, which would be understandable, it ended with Quorra (Wilde) seeing the human world for the first time with Sam. She’s left in an unknown place, so seeing Kosinski and Quorra explore that idea would be interesting… but they’ll likely – and quickly, I imagine – return to the Grid.
Will Cillian Murphy return, though? His cameo was a surprise, but it’s not something a sequel would have to deliver on. Even the most diehard TRON fans can probably live without seeing Murphy play Edward Dillinger Jr., right?
