Sorry sci-fi fans, it would appear that Tron 3 will not be coming to cinemas any time soon. Disney have officially cancelled production on the sequel, according to an exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter.
The film was never officially ‘greenlit’ by the studio but seemed to be moving into pre-production with shooting to begin later this year in Vancouver. Joseph Kosinski was set to direct the sequel, while Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde reprised their roles from Tron: Legacy. There had also been rumours that Disney had reached out to Academy Award-winner Jared Leto and Olivia Munn to potentially play roles in the franchise, but no official offers were made.
Tron 3, which was rumoured to bear the title Tron: Ascension, had been in development since Tron: Legacy was released. The 2010 film grossed $400 million worldwide and acted as a sequel/re-vamp to the 1982 sci-fi starring Jeff Bridges. The original took place inside a computer world known as The Grid. Tron: Legacy sees Bridges’ character’s son (Hedlund) jump into the computer world to meet his long lost father.
The Tron franchise influenced this scene from Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’ video.
The 1982 and subsequent sequel drew a huge cult following online and has had huge influence on both filmmakers and pop culture in general. The most recent and popular homage to Tron can be seen in Taylor Swift’s music video ‘Bad Blood’ which sees Jessica Alba and Swift riding on futuristic motor cycles in a training sequence, extremely similar to those in the film.
It has been speculated that part of the reason why it was now been scrapped is due to the disappointing box office stats that Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland has received. In addition to this, the studio’s schedule is extremely full for the next couple of years, due to the Marvel Cinematic Universe taking over the summer box office slots, as well as the productions of several live action remakes in the pipe line, including The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast – all of which have been added due to the phenomenal success of Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella.
