Jeff Bridges Returning for ‘Tron: Ares,’ 15 Years After ‘Tron: Legacy’

Brian Welk
·2 min read
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Jeff Bridges is getting digitized once again. The actor revealed that he will be returning for “Tron: Ares,” the third “Tron” movie set for release in 2015 and will star Jared Leto.

Bridges revealed the news on the Film Comment podcast on Friday, saying that he headed out over the weekend to film a part for the threequel and was even anxious about working with an actor like Leto.

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“Jared Leto is the star of this third one. I’m really anxious to work with him. I’ve admired his work,” Bridges said.

Bridges reprised his role as Kevin Flynn in 2010’s “Tron: Legacy” after he first appeared in the groundbreaking 1982 video-game movie. “Legacy” aimed to push another technical visual effects boundary by de-aging his character, with Bridges playing himself and his younger avatar. But Bridges admitted that he wasn’t quite a fan of his de-aged self, though the technology has certainly gotten better since then.

“I didn’t like the way I looked in it,” Bridges said. “I felt like I looked more like Bill Maher than myself. It was kind of bizarre.”

While he didn’t give any character details or plot points, Bridges did say the film has some beautiful, practical sets and effects rather than being solely a digital marvel this time around. Disney did however also confirm his return with an on-set photo of the actor.

“Tron: Ares” was recently set for release by Disney on October 10, 2025. The film was initially delayed by the writers’ and actors’ strikes, with director Joachim Rønning previously revealing that over 150 crew members were laid off as a result of the delays. The film also stars “Past Lives” star Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Sarah Desjardins. Not returning are Olivia Wilde or Garrett Hedlund, the stars of “Tron: Legacy.”

The third “Tron” film reportedly follows Leto as Ares, the manifestation of an all-powerful, sentient computer program, who makes his way into the real world. The first two “Tron” movies, including the original from 1982 and the rebooted sequel from 2010, follow someone who manages to get sucked into the computerized world of a video game. The original was an early pioneer in digital effects, and the sequel directed by Joseph Kosinski was similarly visually daring and also featured an iconic score by electronic pioneers Daft Punk.

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