How Tron: Ares Teases Fans With One Of Legacy's Most Important Plot Threads
This post contains spoilers for "Tron: Ares"
The gap between the "Tron" movies has tightened, with "Tron: Ares" (read our review here) finally arriving 15 years after "Tron: Legacy," which itself came 28 years after the original venture into the Grid. Like the second installment, "Tron: Ares" introduces a new cast of characters at risk of being derezzed to replace those noticeably missing from its predecessor. Fans of the franchise need not worry, however, because it's in skirting around the past of "Tron: Legacy" that "Tron: Ares" sets up a future chapter that we hope will arrive much sooner than it took for this and the previous film to load up.
Perhaps one of the boldest things "Tron: Ares" does is daring to tie back to a film that, for the most part, it pays very little attention to. When our third trip into the Grid begins, we're informed that Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges, the only "Tron" cast member to return in "Ares"), and escaped program, Quorra (Oliva Wilde) have not been seen since they rode off into the sunset at the end of "Legacy," seemingly leaving the business and digital world behind them. Now, all focus is on Flynn Jr.'s successor, the new ENCOM CEO, Eve Kim (Greta Lee), who is looking for the Permanence Code that will keep digital creations in the real world, whether it's an orange tree to solve food scarcity or Ares (Jared Leto), an escaped program made by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the grandson of original "Tron" antatonist, Edward Dillinger (David Warner).
Ares has his eye on Sam and Quorra very early on in Tron: Ares
It's revealed early on that Sam has since left the company and passed ownership to Eve, but it's during Ares' infiltration of ENCOM that the program learns that another like him has managed to escape into the real world. While scouring through files trying to find Eve's whereabouts and the Permanence Code, he stumbles across an article highlighting "Who is Sam Flynn's Mystery Woman?" that we know to be Quorra, before it quickly passes him completely. Brief as it is, it's a clear indication that the two stuck around together after their adventure in the Grid. It's only in the film's final act that the heroic program, which has now been turned fully human, picks up the trail and hints at what could be on the horizon.
In a letter to Eve, Ares reveals that he's traveling the world and trying to find his place in it. The last pit stop we see him make is in Mexico City, where he's shown to have swapped his neon-lit gear for far more breathable linenwear. While taking a beat, Ares skims over photos of Sam and Quorra, which have coordinates detailing their last known whereabouts written on them, and ensuring that more than the previous films ever did, a sequel is absolutely being set up. It's just a question of what it could involve, and if we might see the new and old(ish) generation of "Tron" team-up against a brand new threat.
Flynn Lives, but could he return in Tron 4?
Besides Ares heading off in search of Sam Flynn, a more ominous final note sees Julian Dillinger escaping the authorities and finding himself in the Grid. Outrunning the law becomes the least of his troubles, though, when, after taking hold of the Identity Disc previously owned by the original "Tron" villain, Sark (David Warner), Julian seemingly becomes the next generation of evil program that caused problems back in 1982.
With Julian getting this new upgrade, it's safe to say that plans are in place for the franchise to host another battle on or off The Grid, with the ex-head of Dillinger Systems going up against Ares. What would be great to see is if the impending battle has both the current and former heads of ENCOM join the ex-program in whatever comes their way. It just all depends on how big a hit "Tron: Ares" ends up being for that to go ahead.
The new threequel is a massive box-office gamble for Disney, and it may take the opening weekend to determine whether a fourth film will get the green light. If it does, we may see a real-life Flynn family member return, along with his Grid-escaping girlfriend. Just keep your light cycle trails crossed so that it takes less than a decade for that to happen.