The Grid is breaching reality in Tron: Ares, and the first full trailer promises high-concept chaos, neon-drenched visuals, and a return to the iconic world that began in 1982.
After a teaser dropped earlier this year, Disney has officially released the full trailer for Tron: Ares, the long-awaited third installment in the Tron franchise. The film is set to premiere in theaters on October 10 and will be featured prominently at San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H next week.
This time around, Tron flips the script: instead of humans entering the digital world, entities from the Grid are crossing into our reality. The new trailer teases a sleek, high-stakes story about AI, big tech, and the dangers of blurring the lines between artificial and actual intelligence. “They are coming here,” declares Evan Peters’ character, Julian Dillinger, summing up the ominous vibe as Recognizer ships blaze through city streets.
Returning to the series is Jeff Bridges, reprising his role as Kevin Flynn, the original programmer and spiritual heartbeat of the franchise. Bridges remains the only actor to appear in all three Tron films.
Leading the cast is Jared Leto as Ares, a powerful program sent into the real world on a mysterious mission that will mark humankind’s first true encounter with AI beings. Leto’s involvement, however, has drawn criticism online given the numerous allegations of misconduct that have followed the actor in recent years.
The ensemble also includes Hasan Minhaj, Gillian Anderson, Greta Lee, and Evan Peters.
Tron: Ares is directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil), with Disney clearly hoping to breathe new life into the cult sci-fi property. The film’s tone is visually rich and conceptually ambitious, with the trailer heavily focused on action, philosophy, and spectacle.
One element that’s getting universal praise: the music. Grammy-winning band Nine Inch Nails is scoring the film and dropped the first single from the soundtrack, “As Alive As You Need Me To Be,” alongside the trailer’s debut. The track maintains the franchise’s tradition of immersive, electronic scores, following Wendy Carlos’ work on the original and Daft Punk’s acclaimed Tron: Legacy soundtrack.
The official synopsis reads:
Tron: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.
Whether Tron: Ares becomes the soft reboot the franchise needs remains to be seen, but based on the trailer — laser light cycles, collapsing realities, and all — it’s clear Disney is going all-in.