Nine Inch Nails Scores TRON: Ares — New Trailer Hints at Dark Tone

San Diego Comic-Con is less than a week away, and Disney wants to kick off anticipation for its big presentation by releasing an entirely new trailer for its upcoming TRON: Ares film, the newest installment in the long-running sci-fi franchise. Directed by Joachim Rønning, TRON: Ares aims to explore the beloved franchise’s world in new ways, turning away from the programs of the Grid and fully venturing into the real world.

The last time fans were inside the Grid was in 2010 for TRON: Legacy, which followed the son of Kevin Flynn, Sam Flynn, played by Garrett Hedlund. Sam made it to the Grid in the film’s climax to stop a plan put into place by the coldly methodical Clu, a program from the Grid who planned to merge the virtual and real world. Sam also made it out of the Grid with a young isomorphic algorithm (ISO) named Quorra, played by Olivia Wilde, whom Clu had been on the hunt to delete throughout the film.

Disney had originally intended to move forward with a third TRON film that would have picked up right where Legacy ended. The third TRON film was officially given the green light by Disney in October 2010, and early plans had it picking up with Sam and Quorra, following Sam as he now took on the CEO position of his late father’s company, ENCOM. However, things came to a halt, and by 2015, the sequel was canned, and reports at the time indicated that the lackluster performance of another Disney sci-fi film, Tomorrowland, was part of the reasoning for the film’s non-greenlight.

Of course, that would not be the end of the franchise, as Disney revived TRON’s tale in 2020, but as a reboot rather than a follow-up to Legacy. Still, remnants from the scrapped script of the follow-up have remained and are incorporated into the reboot; one of which is Ares, a main AI featured within previous script iterations of the film. After going through delays and stoppages from the recent Hollywood strikes, TRON: Ares is finished filming and will be released in theaters for a fall release.

The synopsis from Disney describes the film as: “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.” The lead role of Ares will be played by Jared Leto, with Evan Peters playing Julian Dillinger and Greta Lee as Eve Kim. The rest of the supporting cast includes Jodie Turner-Smith, Cameron Monaghan, Sarah Desjardins, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and Gillian Anderson. For fans of the franchise, Jeff Bridges will also be reprising his role as Kevin Flynn, and the film’s score will be created by Nine Inch Nails.

Trailer Teaser: A New AI Steps Into the Real World

In the first trailer that came out in April, fans got an eyeful of the hallmarks of TRON visual splendor: bright neon lines, lightcycles, and other elements of the cyber world in digital design. The film’s story, however, remained shrouded in mystery. The second trailer released this week still brings the bright eye candy that the TRON franchise is known for, but it starts to give a little more context to the story itself.

The trailer opens with a younger character in what appears to be a staged tech keynote presentation. Julian Dillinger (played by Evan Peters) is addressing an auditorium of people as he prefaces an important announcement. “So much talk of AI and big tech today,” Dillinger says, referring to the age we currently live in. “Virtual worlds, what are they going to look like? When will we get there? Well, folks. We’re not going there. They are coming here.”

Following up on his prediction for what is to come, Dillinger then takes the stage to reveal his “ultimate soldier.” This AI, known as Ares, is sent on a mission into the real world, but its mission objective is not quite clear. Dillinger reveals his intentions and egotism within the business world, asking rhetorically, “He’s biblically strong, lightning fast, and supremely intelligent. And if he is struck down on the battlefield…” At this point, Dillinger smashes the Ares figure that is placed in front of him on the stage and continues. “…I will simply make you another.” Dillinger’s hubris is clear, as he envisions a never-ending stream of AI soldiers under his control, a force to dominate and bend the future of AI in the real world to his will.

But Dillinger is quickly shown that he is not in complete control. Yes, he may believe that Ares is his creation that he can order around to do his bidding, but it seems Ares has something else on his mind, an objective not stated, but a matter of importance as Ares embarks on a personal mission to find whatever it is he or she is looking for. This mission of self-discovery gives a potentially philosophical dimension to Ares’ character, which is played by Jared Leto.

Fans of the original will be pleased to see a familiar face as the franchise’s character of Kevin Flynn returns, played by Jeff Bridges, who is seen in the virtual world as Ares’ humanity is questioned, with Flynn asking, “A malfunctioning program who wants to live, why is that?” For Leto’s Ares, the crossing over from the digital world into the real world serves to further blur the lines between man and machine within the long-running franchise.

After years of stop and start, TRON: Ares is nearly ready to enter our reality. So mark your calendars, as the film will be released in theaters on October 10, 2025.