Tron: Ares is a 2025 American science fiction action film. It is the third installment in the Tron series following Tron: Legacy (2010). Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was directed by Joachim Rønning, and stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and Gillian Anderson, with Jeff Bridges reprising his role as Kevin Flynn from the first two films. The story is about artificial intelligence originating from the Grid entering the real world, namely a highly advanced program called Ares. Development of a sequel to Tron: Legacy began in October 2010 by franchise creator Steven Lisberger. In March 2017, Walt Disney Pictures shifted plans toward a reboot with Leto playing a new character. Garth Davis was set as director in August 2020 when Wigutow was working on the script, but stepped down in January 2023. Rønning replaced him a month later. Production was expected to begin in August 2023 but was delayed by the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Filming ultimately began in January 2024 in Vancouver and finished in May. By August, industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails had been announced to be composing the score. The band's members, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, served as executive producers on the film, alongside Legacy director Joseph Kosinski. Tron: Ares premiered in Los Angeles on October 6, 2025, before a general release followed on October 10, and received mixed reviews from critics. It was considered a box-office disappointment, grossing $142 million worldwide on a production budget of $180–220 million, although it found commercial success with its home media release.
Plot In 2025, ENCOM and Dillinger Systems are in a race to bring digital constructs into reality. ENCOM's CEO Eve Kim and her partner Seth Flores visit a remote station near Skagway, Alaska built decades earlier by Kevin Flynn. Finding Flynn's "permanence code", enabling constructs to exist for more than 29-minute intervals, they transfer a digital orange tree into the real world. Julian Dillinger, the head of Dillinger Systems and grandson of former ENCOM executive Ed Dillinger, introduces his shareholders to Ares, a Master Control Program he describes as the "perfect, expendable soldier". Ares shows signs of self-awareness and notes Julian's indifference to his programs' survival, while Julian's mother, Elisabeth, expresses concern about their constructs' limited lifespans. Julian sends Ares and his unit to attack ENCOM's digital Grid, downloading Eve's personal data in pursuit of the permanence code. Against his programming, Ares tries to save an injured program, but Julian extracts him and disables ENCOM's Grid. Redeployed to the outside world, Ares tracks Eve's jet as she and Seth return to ENCOM with the permanence code. Learning of Julian's cyberattack from their colleague Ajay Singh, Eve flees as Ares and his second-in-command Athena chase her through the city on Light Cycles. Eve hijacks Athena's Light Cycle but is cornered by Ares, and destroys the drive containing the code. Reaching the end of his 29-minute lifespan, Ares recognizes Eve's empathy towards his plight. As Ares and Athena are "derezzed", Julian digitizes Eve onto the Dillinger Grid. Ares reveals the code can be obtained using Eve's identity disc, and Julian is willing to let her die as a result. Lying to Athena that Julian is "indisposed", Ares bargains with Eve, asking to achieve permanence in exchange for her freedom. Suspicious, Athena contacts Julian and, deciding that Ares is malfunctioning, returns with orders to de-rez him. Evading their pursuers, Ares and Eve return to the real world. En route to ENCOM, they reflect on their motivations, as Ares shows further signs of self-awareness and individuality. Eve realizes a copy of the code might be stored in Kevin Flynn's original office, preserved at ENCOM Tower, where they reunite with Seth to upload Ares onto Flynn's original Grid using a particle laser. They are ambushed by Athena, who destroys the laser to trap Ares, but experiences a moment of self-awareness before de-materializing. Ajay and his assistant Erin arrive, joining Seth and Eve in using Athena's own laser to hack the Dillinger Grid. Elisabeth retakes the position of CEO and tries to turn off the particle lasers, but Athena re-materializes and fatally stabs her, to Julian's horror, having interpreted her as an obstacle in his directive to obtain the code "by any means". On Flynn's Grid, Ares encounters a manifestation of Flynn, and they discuss Ares's desire for permanence. Intrigued by Ares's wish to live and to save Eve, Flynn grants him the permanence code and re-materializes him via backdoor at Flynn's Arcade. Athena pilots a Recognizer into the city, capturing Eve while the ENCOM staff breach the Dillinger Grid, but Ares intercepts Athena and her unit. Ajay, Seth, and Erin shut down the Dillinger mainframe, preventing Ares's fellow Dillinger programs from re-materializing, and a wounded Athena permanently de-materializes in Ares's arms. The police raid Dillinger headquarters, but Julian uses the laser to digitize himself. Eve and Ares go their separate ways, as ENCOM uses the permanence code to benefit the world. Ares sends Eve a postcard, traveling the world in search of Flynn's son, Sam, and his companion, Quorra. Eve reconstructs the Skagway facility on top of ENCOM Tower, including the orange tree. Back in the damaged Dillinger Grid, Julian is transformed by an identity disc that belonged to his grandfather's program Sark.
Cast
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