Why Jeff Bridges Forced Disney To Change Its Tron: Ares Marketing Plans

Keeping secrets in Hollywood is a fool's errand. The second anyone in this town lets slip a tantalizing piece of info to a friend or, god forbid, a journalist "in confidence," you can pretty much count on reading that secret in a trade or an entertainment website or social media. This is not a new phenomenon (43 years ago, the death of Spock in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" got tipped off far enough in advance that the erstwhile Starlog magazine published a spate of irate letters from Trekkies pre-release), but scooping became a multi-million industry at the turn of the 21st century with the proliferation of geek-catering sites like Ain't It Cool News, Dark Horizons, and Corona Coming Attractions. This became a huge problem for major studios shilling big-budget event movies, to the point where they had to huddle with their casts and filmmakers to make sure they wouldn't accidentally reveal some crucial bit of information.

Young professionals not named Tom Holland typically play ball. Veteran actors, however, tend to not give a rip. The legendary Jeff Bridges is one of them.

While Disney hadn't planned on revealing Bridges' appearance in the forthcoming "Tron: Ares" as early as last year, the grizzled genius who co-starred in multiple New Hollywood classics (like "The Last Picture Show," "Fat City," and "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot") casually spilled the beans anyway. Now that Bridges was confirmed to be returning as some iteration of Flynn (who died at the end of "Tron: Legacy"), Disney had to adjust its marketing campaign. Tough luck, that. The central character of the entire franchise, played by one of the most beloved actors working today, coming back into the fold is a real kick in the pants if you're trying to broaden the appeal of a brand that's never been a box office juggernaut — especially when your star, Jared Leto, won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for a movie most people never saw, is widely considered to be the worst cinematic Joker, and is facing multiple allegations of sexual impropriety.

So, what can we expect from nü-Flynn in "Tron: Ares"?

In the latest issue of SFX, the magazine goes deep into the production of "Tron: Ares." While its reporter was on set, the production did its damndest to conceal the involvement of the once and future Dude. Obviously, Bridges wound up throwing a spanner into Disney's marketing works, which led to the studio dropping the charade and going so far as to feature Flynn in the official marketing.

Now that everyone knows, SFX asked "Tron: Ares" director Joachim Rønning just how integral Flynn is to the plot of the new film. Per the director: 

"He's very much in the film, like, really in it. He's like a ghost in the machine. He lives on the old 1982 Flynn grid, on the old Flynn server, the OG grid. We've had a lot of fun travelling back to that period, looking at the original movie, trying to mimic the look and feel of that period with new technology."

Whether it's worth enduring a film starring Jared Leto, well, he can at least count on the minuscule "Morbius" fanbase flocking to the multiplexes. It's a tough call for me. Between the Leto factor and an appearance by the noxious Mr. Beast, who runs a game show where he humiliates and mistreats people for the promise of a big payday (and apparently is fond of throwing around the r-word), Disney's done a fairly expert job of dampening my interest in this movie. I'll see Jeff Bridges in just about anything, but I managed to skip "Seventh Son." It's a shame because, visually, "Tron: Ares" looks astounding. And as Disney just learned, bad decisions do, in fact, have their consequences (though good on the company for bringing back Jimmy Kimmel).

"Tron: Ares" opens in theaters on October 10, 2025.