Director Joachim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) has taken to Instagram to reveal that filming on Tron 3 is officially underway. Rønning posted a shot of a set chair and the film's clapperboard, revealing Tron 3's stylized Tr3n logo.
Over the years, a sequel to 2010's Tron: Legacy has been floated by Disney on several occassions, with Joseph Kosinski originally aiming to return. However, after several starts and stops, he ultimately departed the project. Pre-production actually got underway in Vancouver back in 2015, before Disney pulled the plug due to budget concerns.
In 2016, Disney then hired Garth Davis to direct the pic, with Jesse Wigutow writing the script. Cost-related script changes and scheduling conflicts reportedly led to Kosinski's departure.
However, Davis also departed the project, with Rønning stepping in to replace him.
Of course, when discussing Tron, you have to start with the original 1982 motion picture which starred Jeff Bridges as Kevin Fynn, a computer hacker who gets trapped inside a computer program called the Grid, where he's forced to compete in gladiator-like games.
Bridges reprised his role as Flynn in Legacy, with Garret Hedlund playing his son. Olivia Wilde co-starred as Quorra, a sentient computer program living inside the Grid
Legacy grossed $400.1 million worldwide from a production budget of $175 million. Using movie math, which accounts for marketing costs and revenue sharing with cinema owners, the film was not profitable (at least not from movie ticket sales alone).
Hence, Jared Leto was brought in as a new focus for the franchise's third entry, which has been titled Tron: Ascension and Tron: Ares at various points. Leto is said to be portraying a mysterious character, named Ares.
Confirmed cast members other than Leto include Evan Peters (WandaVision, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), Greta Lee (Past Lives, The Morning Show), Jodie Turner-Smith (Without Remorse, White Noise), Sarah Desjardins (Yellowjackets, The Night Agent), and Cameron Monaghan (Shameless, Gotham).
Unconfirmed rumors speculate that Hedlund and Wilde are also set to return, along with Bridges.
An expensive new Tron-themed roller coaster just opened in Disney World's Magic Kingdom and it's thought that Disney wanted a new film to bring awareness of the IP to young fans.
Production on Tron 3 was originally slated to begin back in August but was delayed due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in Hollywood.