TRON: Ares Trailer Teases Epic Clash of AI and Humanity

The wait for San Diego Comic-Con is almost over, and Disney is teasing the highly anticipated presentation in these last hours with the release of a brand-new trailer for the latest entry in the saga. The film is called TRON: Ares, and is directed by Joachim Rønnning. This is a new start for the famous sci-fi franchise, where the story of TRON will no longer be set in the virtual world of the Grid but will be transferred into the real world.

TRON: Ares opens with the Flynn Academy, and the picture centers on Ares, a very advanced program from the Grid, who was sent into the real world, resulting in the first meeting between humans and artificial intelligence (AI). The choice to let the sequel in the real world is a continuation of the strong premise that ended the film TRON: Legacy, where Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) saved the world from Clu’s invasion plan by foiling the villain’s plan to merge the Grid with the real world. In addition, Flynn also managed to bring Quorra (Olivia Wilde) to safety. Quorra is a valuable isomorphic algorithm (ISO) who has managed to evade attempts by Clu and other programs to delete her existence.

Disney initially wanted to create a third TRON film to act as a direct sequel to Legacy. In October 2010, Disney officially announced that it was in the works. Sam Flynn and Quorra would have returned for a story set after the events of TRON: Legacy. Sam was going to take over his father, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), at ENCOM. In 2015, the film was officially canceled by Disney. The main reason was considered the lackluster performance of the sci-fi movie Tomorrowland, which used similar creative themes as the project’s scripts.

In 2020, the film saw a reboot as an entirely standalone action film that did not act as a direct sequel to Legacy. However, many elements from the previous script survived in the development of the franchise, and one of these elements was Ares, a program that has featured prominently in earlier TRON iterations as an Artificial Intelligence that may or may not take a key place in the new script. After long pandemic-related delays and additional lag as a result of the Hollywood strikes, it seems that TRON: Ares has finally wrapped and is now gearing up for a theatrical fall release.

In the official summary provided by Disney, the film follows: “A highly advanced Program called Ares from the digital world finds himself on a mission in the real world, setting up the first contact between humanity and AI.” The film stars Jared Leto as Ares, and Evan Peters and Greta Lee as Julian Dillinger and Eve Kim, respectively. The supporting cast features Jodie Turner-Smith, Cameron Monaghan, Sarah Desjardins, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and Gillian Anderson. Original TRON fans will be glad to hear that the actor Jeff Bridges will also be returning to the film as Kevin Flynn. The music for the film has been composed by the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails.

The first trailer released in April this year featured the typical TRON stylized elements: neon glows, razor-sharp lightcycles, and stunning virtual environments that the original film was known for, but without delving into the story in any meaningful way. This week, Disney released the new teaser that doubles down on the film’s signature style, but also teases a clearer idea of what the story is about.

The teaser trailer begins in a familiar setting, reminiscent of any old tech industry keynote presentation. Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) is in front of a big auditorium with an anonymous gathering of the industry’s elite as he boldly and playfully states: “So much talk of AI, big tech, virtual worlds, what are they going to look like, when will we get there? Well, folks. We’re not going there. They are coming here.” From these words, it is clear that Dillinger is either very powerful in the world of real-world tech or pretends to be. Dillinger is the CEO of his brand, and he thinks he has the future of AI completely under control.

In an almost blasphemous manner, Dillinger then introduces Ares, an “ultimate soldier.” He boasts, “He’s biblically strong, lightning fast, and supremely intelligent. And if he is struck down on the battlefield…” and just as Dillinger is finishing the sentence, he pushes Ares over the podium as if to demonstrate, “…I will simply make you another.” Dillinger presents himself as a rogue tycoon who calls the shots in an industry where artificial intelligence is one of the most powerful driving forces in contemporary tech.

However, as the trailer suggests, Ares may not be a plaything for Julian Dillinger to mold as he wishes, nor does he consider that Dillinger is in control of Ares’ future. In the trailer, Ares is depicted as a figure on a hero’s quest, but a rather existential one, as he is not even sure what he is looking for. This may hint at a recurring theme in the film: an intelligent program may have an assigned role in the real world and within an algorithmic design process, but the same cannot be said when it comes to defining its own identity or philosophy. It’s been a long 15 years since the saga was last front and center in the pop culture zeitgeist. Thankfully, it looks like the Disney-backed TRON: Ares will be hitting theaters for its official theatrical release on October 10, 2025.