Tron: Ares' Mid-Credits Scene Calls Back To The Original Movie In A Big Way

Spoilers follow.

"Tron: Ares" might be the second sequel to the original groundbreaking 1982 sci-fi film starring Jeff Bridges as a man sucked into the digital world of computers, but it doesn't do much to follow up on the events of the first sequel, "Tron: Legacy" from 2010. The open-ended conclusion of "Legacy" is only briefly hinted at, including an ending that sets up yet another sequel in the "Tron" franchise, should "Ares" perform well enough at the box office. Instead, "Tron: Ares" feels more like a direct sequel to "Tron," even if it keeps the canon of "Tron: Legacy" intact. That's largely because we're yet again dealing with a villainous Dillinger, and the mid-credits scene takes his legacy back to the beginning of the franchise.

In the original "Tron," the antagonist is Ed Dillinger (David Warner), the senior executive vice president of the technology company ENCOM. Dillinger rose to the top of ENCOM's ranks by plagiarizing video game ideas from tech genius Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), and Flynn tries to hack into ENCOM's systems to prove it with a program called CLU. However, Dillinger has put a Master Control Program (MCP) in place to stop outside hackers. 

When the MCP destroys CLU, Flynn and a couple of his colleagues plan to use a program called Tron to counter the efforts of the MCP and get the information they need. But before they can do that, the MCP activates an experimental particle laser that digitizes Flynn into the ENCOM computer grid, where computer programs are living entities that resemble the likeness of the human users who created them. That's why, when Flynn encounters the MCP's second in command, named Sark, it's a character who looks like David Warner, just in a glowing, orange computer circuit board-style suit.

It's this detail that comes into play in a major way in the mid-credits scene of "Tron: Ares," hinting at a story thread that will bring the legacy of Ed Dillinger full circle.

In "Tron: Ares," Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) — grandson of Ed Dillinger and son of Edward's heir and successor, Elisabeth Dillinger (Gillian Anderson) – is in charge of Dillinger Corporation, a direct competitor with ENCOM, which is now run by Eve Kim (Greta Lee). Both are trying to achieve a breakthrough in new technology that would allow the creation of artificially intelligent humanized programs like Ares (Jared Leto, star of the maligned "Morbius") and Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith), designed as expendable, duplicable soldiers to carry out Dillinger's orders, as well as sleek, stylish advanced vehicles like lightcycles, all brought into the real world from the virtual computer world known as the grid. The only problem is they can't get their laser-printed creations to survive in the real world longer than 29 minutes. So ENCOM and Dillinger are both in pursuit of a permanence code to put an end to this shortcoming.

The entire movie is a race to find the permanence code, which is believed to be somewhere in Flynn's old files. This makes for plenty of neon-soaked action to keep the movie exciting, as lightcycles tear through the real world, slicing police cars in half and creating chaos in the streets. But Julian takes things too far in his pursuit of the permanence code, even going so far as to approve the execution of Eve Kim after having her digitized with a new particle laser gun and sent into the grid. 

After Ares learns more about Eve, he becomes defiant of his orders from Dillinger and chooses to help Eve find the permanence code, not just so he can stop himself from dying over and over again, but so he can help Eve use the technology to improve the real world. So Dillinger sends Athena after Eve and the rogue program, giving her permission to stop them by any means necessary.

When all is said and done, Ares overcomes his original programming and helps retrieve the permanence code, which basically turns him into a human, and Dillinger is left to deal with the fallout of all the destruction that he caused by unleashing Athena, and a massive Recognizer ship, on the city. 

However, instead of facing the consequences when law enforcement arrives at Dillinger Industries, he reprograms the machine that created Ares, Athena, and their various weapons and vehicles from the grid, and he uses it to digitize himself into the grid. Unfortunately, Dillinger is scanning himself into a destroyed landscape that was once occupied by the Dillinger Industries server, which was laid to ruin by real world hacking at ENCOM in order to stop any more soldiers like Athena from coming into the real world. But there's a secret waiting within the annihilated tower where Ares once stood.

After Julian looks out over the destroyed digital landscape, a small panel rises out from the floor of the tower. Within the panel is a glowing orange light disc. But this isn't the kind of light disc we've seen in "Tron: Legacy" or even the new triangular discs from "Tron: Ares." This is one of the classic light discs from the original "Tron."

When Julian reaches out to touch the disc, a holographic overlay suddenly envelopes his body as he screams in agony. As the holograph takes shape, we see that it's the exact same kind of suit and helmet that was worn by Sark in the original "Tron." Within the grid, Dillinger has come full circle with the legacy of his grandfather, and he's set up to be an even more dangerous foe in a potential "Tron 4."

As far as any plans for how this development could unfold in a new movie, the film's writer Jesse Wigutow sees plenty of potential, but one thing has to happen. As he told our own BJ Colangelo in an interview before the movie's release, "The lords above have to feel like there's more to be had on a corporate level. Storytelling wise, I think there's an enormous amount left on the table to work with, and it would be a lot of fun to get back to it."

Here's hoping enough people turn out for "Tron: Ares" that we might get to see a fourth film in the franchise.