Disney’s Tron franchise is something of a touchy subject. The original movie is adored by the majority of sci-fi fans, while the sequel that came 28 years later is slightly more divisive. Despite Tron: Legacy‘s failure to win unanimous approval among the core sci-fi fanbase, most of us can agree that we’re all keen to see Disney take another shot at this series. And there’s a small chance that it could still happen.
Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski recently spoke to Collider and revealed that he had a third film, Tron: Ascension, that was practically ready to go a few years back. But then Disney purchased Marvel and Star Wars and they were suddenly flush with sci-fi blockbusters, and Tron 3 was put on the shelf — where it remains. But, Kosinski is still holding out hope that Tron 3 will be made someday, saying that it’s not dead, it’s just in cryogenic freeze. Perhaps in an attempt to drum up some hype, the director went as far as to share the plot of the potential next installment in the series:
“An invasion movie from inside the machine coming out as opposed to one we’ve usually seen. So we hinted at that at the end of Legacy with Quorra coming out, 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. And I think that really opens up, blows open the concept of Tron in a way that would be thrilling to see on screen. But there’s also a really interesting character study in Quorra and a ‘Stranger in a Strange Land,’ trying to figure out where she belongs having lived in the real world for a few years, and where does she fit in.”
While it’s certainly an interesting concept to have a movie about the inhabitants of the Grid invading the real world, I’m not sure that’s what the Tron fanbase really wants to see. I would think that a Tron movie that’s mostly based in the real world — where there are no Light Cycles — would be a risky venture for Disney. And since the studio is mostly in the business of producing sure things at the moment, it seems like too big of a leap to make. But who knows? Ascension would definitely take the franchise someplace no one expected it to go, which just might be enough of a justification for Disney to take a chance on it if they’re feeling daring.
