Disney’s extensive portfolio of properties gives them access to some of the biggest and most beloved franchises in Hollywood, an incredibly deep roster of brands that only got bigger when the Mouse House assumed control of the 20th Century Fox library, but the studio are adamant that come hell or high water, Tron eventually launches a multi-film series.
Jared Leto is currently in training to throw on the skintight leotard for next installment Ares, and by the time the movie hits theaters, it’ll mark just the third feature-length outing in a franchise that started almost 40 years ago. The cult classic original hardly set the box office alight in 1982, but gained a following thanks to the intricate worldbuilding and innovative visual effects, while Joseph Kosinski’s Legacy did a decent $400 million globally, but didn’t turn enough of a profit to justify a sequel.
Having gone back to the drawing board, insider Daniel Richtman now claims that Tron: Ares will be one of the most expensive productions that Disney have ever put together, which is a massive risk given that Legacy only barely ended up in the black and Leto’s upcoming adventure will presumably cost at least as much as the $170 million that was splurged on the last installment.
Disney’s most expensive movie to date, and in fact the costliest of all-time, remains Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at a mammoth $379 million. In fact, if you include projects from Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, then the company are responsible for eight of the ten biggest-budgeted blockbusters in history, with infamous bomb John Carter taking tenth spot at a pricey $264 million. If these are the kind of numbers being floated around for Tron: Ares, then the studio could potentially be setting themselves up for a huge fall.
