Programs, it’s a day of celebration! The Tron: Ares cast member whose return we’ve been waiting on with bated breath has been announced today. Jeff Bridges aka Kevin Flynn has been confirmed to return for Tron 3. Although Jared Leto may be the lead, the sentient AI that travels from the digital world to the real world on a mission, in Tron: Ares, Bridges has been the face of the Tron franchise for over four decades.
Bridges himself announced his return to the Tron franchise on the Film Comment podcast (starting at the 29-minute mark) exclaiming, “I’m heading off this Saturday to play a part in the third installment of the ‘Tron’ story; I’m excited about that.”
Soon after, Disney shared a BTS shot of Bridges reading the Tron: Ares script with the old 1982 Tron helmet in the background. Shared on Instagram and X (previously Twitter), the post reads, “Jeff Bridges returns to the grid. #TronAres”
Further talking about Tron: Ares in the podcast, Bridges said, “Jared Leto is the star of this third one, and I’m really anxious to work with him, and I’ve admired his work.”
Moreover, the actor has seen technology evolve over the past few decades. Tron: Legacy (2010, directed by Joseph Kosinski) heavily used CGI to portray the digital world and the grid. It was leaps ahead in terms of graphics compared to the original 1982 Tron film, but Bridges wasn’t a fan it seems. He said,
“When I did Tron 2, “Tron Legacy,” we had to put all these dots on our face and all these kinds of things. And that’s [probably] all passé. I had to see myself as a young guy or as another character, but the same guy, but it was gonna be digitally created. I think it was [de-aging], but I didn’t like the way I looked in it.”
For those unaware, in Tron: Legacy, Bridges portrayed the genius computer programmer Kevin Flynn, the same character who overthrew Edward Dillinger as CEO in the first movie and cleared his name of wrongdoing, as well as a digital version of himself called Clu. This computer program looked like a younger version of Flynn.
Is Bridges coming back as Flynn? Or, are we in for a surprise?
Now, close to 15 years later, Jeff Bridges is returning to play the role of Flynn in Tron: Ares. Fans are ecstatic about the actor making a comeback for the third installment, with many comments reading, Flynn Lives! Many are also finally excited and hopeful about the movie being good since it will be a continuation of the Tron saga.
But, the question that might be bugging many Tron fans right now is – how? How is Kevin Flynn alive?
Yeah, if you’ve watched Tron: Legacy, you probably remember that Kevin Flynn sacrificed his life to save his son (Garrett Hedlund) and ISO Quorra’s (Olivia Wilde) life. We saw Flynn reintegrate Clu into himself, and his digital version was derezzed in this process. And as it was explained earlier in the movie, it’s impossible for a user to survive reintegration. Tron: Legacy even showed a massive explosion emerging from Flynn’s position and freeing the Grid of Clu’s control.
So, how is Kevin Flynn alive even though he shouldn’t be? Well, we do not know that yet as the Grid is a mysterious place, and it’s possible for its maker to have ways to survive even the most harrowing of processes. Also, I’m not ruling out the possibility of Clu having some involvement in Ares transporting to the real world on a dangerous mission.
There’s a chance we might get to see Bridges in a double role again, and he has immense confidence in Tron: Ares director Joachim Rønning as he would potentially use less CGI in favor of more practical sets. “I’m anxious to see what the technology and what it will be. I hear there’s even less A.I. stuff in this,” adds Bridges.
This update definitely alleviates the mystery about one of the most important characters of the franchise being in the movie. Now, it makes us hopeful for Hedlund and Wilde also being cast in their roles from the sequel for Tron 3. What are your thoughts? Wouldn’t you want to see Quorra and Sam’s story continue and reach a conclusion?
Tron: Ares is confirmed to be released on October 10, 2025. Alongside Leto and Bridges, its star-studded cast includes Gillian Anderson, Evan Peters, Cameron Monaghan, Greta Lee, and Sarah Desjardins.
