The first trailer for Tron: Ares is bringing the beloved video game franchise into the real world in an epic way!
Few movies have earned the label "cult classic" like Tron. The 1982 Disney movie starred Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer trying to prove a corrupt executive stole his prized video game programs.
The sinister Master Control Program manages to send Flynn into the computer world, where he battles it out on game grids and meets the heroic Tron (Bruce Boxleitner). What made the movie notable was the groundbreaking computer-animated effects for the light cycles and the computer world.
The film was a mild success at the box office at the time. It truly found its audience when it hit home video and as video games became more successful, it attained a massive following. Not to mention, it's now seen as a pioneer for CGI, which has influenced scores of effects artists.
After years of attempts, in 2010, fans finally got the sequel, Tron: Legacy. Flynn's son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) traveled into the game grid to find his missing father. It boasted better effects, including a de-aged Bridges as the villain CLU.
That film was intended to start a new franchise but faltered a bit at the box office. Still, Tron has an appeal, proven by the wildly popular Tron: Lightcycle/Run ride. After fifteen years, we're getting a follow-up. And the first trailer shows it's going to be the biggest one yet!
The game and real worlds collide
The trailer shows how the script has been flipped: Rather than a human sent into the game world, somehow, gaming characters are coming into our world.
That includes the amazing sequence of a Lightcycle letting out a beam that slices a police car in half. There's also the sight of the massive Recognizer craft over a city as stunned police look on. A fighter jet attack on it ends in a massive display of pyrotechnic destruction.
The focus is on Ares (Oscar winner Jared Leto), who claims he's "looking for something." There are glimpses of other stars, such as Greta Lee, Evan Peters, and Gillian Anderson. While he doesn't pop up in the trailer, we do hear Bridges' voice to confirm somehow Flynn is back.
It's only a teaser trailer not giving away too much of the plot. However, the action looks amazing and the idea of the game grid world and our world colliding is a logical progression of the storyline.
The film is directed by Joaquim Rønning, who helmed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and thus knows how to handle a major special effects-filled work. The music by Nine Inch Nails adds more grit to the story as well.
Video game movies are on an upswing lately, with A Minecraft Movie delivering stunningly huge box office numbers. Combine that with the built-in fanbase Tron has created over 40 years and Tron: Ares is going to be an epic ride that finally brings the beloved franchise to new life.
Tron: Ares premieres in theaters October 10.