After almost 15 years of development hell, the third Tron movie is finally in production. Star Jared Leto made the news official by dropping the first image of his character, Ares, for the 2025 release called Tron: Ares.
The image is striking and, if you’re a Tron fan, very intriguing. For example, we’ve never seen red on the Grid before. Blue? Yes. Yellow? Yes. But never red. Plus data discs are called that because they’re discs—and the one Ares is holding is a different shape. But that wasn’t the only information provided in the photos. Here’s the full image in high res. Notice anything on that disc?
See it? No? Let’s zoom in nice and tight…
That writing on Ares’ data disc appears to say Dillinger Systems. And, if you’re a Tron fan, your mind has just been blown.
In the first Tron, Edward Dillinger, played by David Warner, is the head of ENCOM. He’s basically the bad guy who stole an idea from Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and hid the evidence, which is what Flynn is able to acquire by destroying the Master Control Program running the show. The movie ends with Flynn taking over for Dillinger as the true brains behind the company.
In Tron: Legacy, Cillian Murphy appears as Edward Dillinger Jr., the son of the original character; he works at ENCOM as a software engineer. He’s also on the board and is set up as a potentially villainous character, though the movie never pays that off.
So! If Ares is part of Dillinger Systems in Tron: Ares, what does that mean? David Warner, unfortunately, passed away in 2022 but Cillian Murphy is sure as heck still alive. He’s not listed on the official Disney cast list (nor are any actors from the original two Tron films, frankly), but you have to assume his character, or some other Dillinger, plays a fairly big role. If Dillingers are making programs, that can’t be good for Kevin/Sam Flynn’s ENCOM.
Just some food for thought—very specifically dropped in there—as you gear up for the Grid over the next several months. Tron: Ares will be out next year and we’ll have more as it’s released.
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