1982’s Tron wasn’t exactly a huge hit at the box office, but the groundbreaking visual effects would go on to inspire an entire generation of filmmakers, while continued fan support saw it endure as a cult favorite. A sequel was finally made 28 years later, and while Tron: Legacy isn’t a terrible movie, it seemed like a strange decision to give the project the go-ahead with a massive $170 million budget when nobody really seemed to be asking for it.
While $400 million globally is a respectable tally for any kind of movie, the huge production and marketing costs saw Legacy barely turn a profit, seemingly putting to bed any chance of the third installment that the ending had obviously been set up for. Despite this, every now and again we hear rumors about a potential Tron 3, with Jared Leto being linked to a starring role since 2017.
Director Joseph Kosinski still hasn’t given up hope, and in a recent interview when asked about the possibility of a Tron 3, he admitted that the continued popularity of both movies and the passionate fanbase could one day will it into existence.
“There’s always been an interest since Legacy. There’s always been talk and murmuring of doing another and continuing the story… I think it’s still a nice jewel in the crown of Disney IP, and I think there are fans and people petitioning and pushing to continue it in the halls of Disney. So I think it could happen. Like anything, it just needs the right confluence of… it’s all about timing and the right elements, and everything’s got to come together for a movie to happen. I think it’s possible and I think it’s worthy of it. I think there’s enough ideas in the franchise, and the fact that it so unique and nothing else looks or sounds like, it, that Tron story. There is, I think, a future for the franchise and I hope they keep making them.”
While Kosinski seems to be vastly over-estimating Tron‘s value as a brand to a company like Disney that have so many well-known properties under their umbrella, Legacy marked his directorial debut, so maybe he has a soft spot for the world. Since then, the 45 year-old has gotten into the Tom Cruise business, directing the diminutive action star in Oblivion and the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, and if the two really hit off, then who knows? Maybe pitching Tron 3 to Disney with Tom Cruise in the lead gives it a much better chance of getting the green light.
