Why Tron: Legacy's Director Doesn't View Ares As A Sequel To His Story
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This summer's "Tron: Ares" may be the third entry in the "Tron" franchise, but that doesn't make it a sequel to "Tron: Legacy." At least, not according to director Joseph Kosinski, who made his feature debut with the big-budget 2010 sci-fi follow-up to 1982's then-groundbreaking "Tron." And while Kosinski's pitch for a third movie did mirror some of what happens in "Ares," he views it as more of a parallel story.
Speaking with Empire Magazine, Kozinski shared some of his thoughts on Disney's most recent entry in the franchise. Directed by Joachim Rønning, "Tron: Ares" centers on Ares (Jared Leto), a highly sophisticated Program who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, representing humankind's first encounter with A.I. beings. As Kosinski explained, "Ares" took some ideas that he was going to use in his would-be "Legacy" follow-up, "Tron: Ascension," but it changed them so much that he hardly sees it as a "Legacy" sequel. Here's what he had to say about it:
"I don't really see it as a sequel. This definitely used elements of a movie I worked on, called 'Tron: Ascension', in terms of maybe some of the set pieces and visuals, but it really inverted the story and told it from a completely different point of view. So, I see it more like a parallel story as opposed to a sequel. But I'm thrilled that what Steve Lisberger created in 1982 still resonates today."
Kosinski was credited as an executive producer on the latest entry in the franchise, but he didn't get a screenplay credit. For whatever it's worth, "Ares" absolutely bombed at the box office, making just $142 million worldwide against a budget north of $200 million. Maybe Disney should have let Kosinski run with his idea instead.
Tron: Ares isn't the sequel that Joseph Kosinski would have made
At the time, "Legacy" was viewed as something of a disappointment, making $400 million at the box office against a $170 million budget and garnering mixed reviews. That, in hindsight, looks quite good. Not only that, but "Legacy" has also found an awful lot more love in the years since its initial release.
It's also worth pointing out that Kosinski has become a go-to blockbuster filmmaker, with the $1.5 billion 2022 behemoth "Top Gun: Maverick" to his name now, as well as this year's "F1," which is the biggest original movie of 2025 by far. Who knows what magic he could've worked with "Tron" had he been given another chance to step into that world.
As for what Kosinski had planned? He's opened up about it over the years, revealing that it was similar to "Ares" but firmly diverted in some major areas.
"What I'm excited about is the concept, which is an invasion movie from inside the machine coming out, as opposed to one we've usually seen," as Kosinski put it while describing "Ascension" in 2017. "We hinted at that at the end of 'Legacy' [...], but the idea for 'Ascension' was a movie that was, the first act was in the real world, the second act was in the world of Tron, or multiple worlds of Tron, and the third act was totally in the real world."
In all likelihood, we'll never know if Kosinski's film would've been better than Rønning's. For the moment, Disney has put the "Tron" franchise to bed in light of "Ares" flopping. Even so, it doesn't sound like Kosinski has any hard feelings, as he's moved onto greener pastures.