‘Tron 3’ Director Says 150+ Crew Members Laid Off as Strikes Shut Down Production: We ‘Need to Speed Up the Negotiating Process’

“Tron 3” director Joachim Rønning took to Instagram to reveal that production on the Disney-backed sequel was supposed to start this week but has been shut down amid the WAG and SAG-AFTRA strikes. As a result, more than 150 crew members have been laid off from the movie, he revealed. The film, which is officially titled “Tron: Ares,” is set to star Jared Leto, Evan Peters, Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith.

Variety has reached out to Disney for comment.

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“Today was supposed to be our first day of principal photography on ‘Tron: Ares’ (a movie subsequently about AI and what it means, and takes, to be human),” Rønning wrote. “Instead, we are shut down with over a hundred and fifty people laid off. It’s indefinite, which makes it exponentially harder for everyone.”

“The AMPTP, SAG-AFTRA and WGA need to speed up the negotiating process and not leave the table until it’s done,” he continued. “This is Hollywood. We close deals for breakfast. Why do we suddenly have all the time in the world when every day is so precious? These tactics are extremely frustrating. It’s time for diplomacy so we can get back to work — under conditions that are fair to everybody.”

Leto is starring in “Tron: Ares” as Ares, the manifestation of a program that becomes sentient and crosses over into the human world, with “Past Lives” star Lee as a video game programmer and tech company CEO who aims to protect her world-changing technology. Additional plot details are being kept under wraps.

The first “Tron” movie, starring Jeff Bridges, debuted in 1982 and flopped at the box office despite its groundbreaking innovations in digital visual effects. Over time, “Tron” developed a cult following, leading to the 2010 sequel “Tron: Legacy,” starring Bridges, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde and helmed by Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”).

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