Jeff Bridges Reveals He’s in ‘Tron: Ares’

The actor, who has been part of the ‘Tron’ world since the 1982 original (and who played two roles in 2010’s ‘Tron: Legacy’), will return for ‘Ares’.

Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn in 1982's 'Tron'. Photo: Buena Vista Distribution.

Preview:

Jeff Bridges says he’s heading to the ‘Tron: Ares’ set to shoot a role.
He didn’t specify if he’ll be back as Kevin Flynn.
Jared Leto and Gillian Anderson are among the stars of the new movie.

It surely would not be a ‘Tron’ movie without Jeff Bridges, who played Kevin Flynn in the 2982 original movie about a programmer named Kevin Flynn who is drawn into the virtual world of The Grid inside his computer to compete in various challenges and to battle a malevolent program.

Bridges returned for 2010’s ‘Tron: Legacy’, playing both Flynn and Clu, the program he created in the past to oversee the Grid system that ends up turning into a threat himself.

Now, talking on the ‘Film Comment’ podcast about his career, Bridges dropped word that he’ll indeed be back for the third ‘Tron’ movie, ‘Tron: Ares’, which stars Jared Leto.

TRON: Ares

Not Yet RatedOct 10th, 2025

A highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind's first encounter with A.I.... Read the Plot

What did Bridges say about ‘Tron: Ares’?

Jeff Bridges, Oscar®-nominee for Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, presents the Oscar® for Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role during the live ABC Television Network broadcast of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards® from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA Sunday, February 27, 2011. Credit/Provider: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

Here’s what Bridges said of his next gig:

“I’m heading off to play a part in the third installment of the ‘Tron’ story; I’m excited about that. It’s wild. Jared Leto is the star of this third one, and I’m really anxious to work with him, I’ve admired his work.”

Bridges doesn’t specify whether he’ll be Flynn or appearing as Clu in flashback (since he was vanquished in ‘Legacy’). Our guess would be the former.

But he did talk about his thoughts on the technology involved in the new movie:

“I’m really excited to see what the technology is going to be all about this time. When I did ‘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; I felt like I looked more like Bill Maher than myself; it was kind of bizarre! I hear there’s even less A.I. stuff in this. It’s going to be more a practical set, and they’re beautiful; there are beautiful sets that I’ve seen.”

What’s the story of ‘Tron: Ares’?

Written by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne, the script follows Leto’s computer program Ares on a journey from the digital world to that of humans.

There remains no word on whether Bridges’ fellow ‘Legacy’ stars Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde will be back, though we’d especially have to doubt Wilde’s return for anything other than a cameo given her busy directing career.

Who stars in ‘Tron: Ares’?

With Leto headlining, ‘Tron: Ares’ also features Evan Peters, Greta Lee, Sarah Desjardins, Cameron Monaghan, Gillian Anderson and Jodie Turner-Smith.

Who is making ‘Tron: Ares’?

Joachim Rønning on the set of Netflix's 'Marco Polo.' Photo: Phil Bray/Netflix.

Joachim Rønning, who has plenty of Disney sequel experience following ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ and ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’, is behind the camera for the new movie, which has been shooting for a few weeks.