Friday was an epic day at Hall H! After panels for Lionsgate’s The Long Walk, and 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands, Disney Studios capped off the day by digitizing its audience and transporting them to The Grid with TRON: Ares! The result: an incredible experience filled with lasers, lights, incredible music, and terrific talent!

Apart from being a legitimate TRON fan, one of the reasons we were so excited for the new film’s line up was because of its cast. In addition to legends like Jeff Bridges and Gillian Anderson, the new film features a veritable who’s who of amazing POC talent! In fact, it’s protagonist appears to be none other than the incredible Greta Lee, from Past Lives, who leads an ensemble featuring Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and the illustrious Jodie Turner-Smith.

However TRON: Ares is going to dive into so much more than just representation for POC actors. We are at a turning point with technology and AI. In many ways we’re are facing the threat of reality being impacted heavily by AI, whether it’s in the form of deep fakes, weaponry, fake sources of information, or even creative deficiencies with art. And this is what the whole point of TRON is and always has been about: the double edged sword that is technology. At the end of the day tech is a tool, but what humans choose to do with it, whether it’s to help foster growth and learning, assist our daily lives, or use it for greed, corruption, or the desire to seize power is what makes it positive or negative.

This is a fundamental truth that TRON creator Steven Lisberger has always believed since he created the franchise back in 1982.

“The most important thing is that we kick this technology around artistically before it kicks us around,” Lisberger stated to moderator Kevin Smith during the panel. “I’m weary from hearing all the grim news about the future and the way to avoid that is to get talent and people like the crew that’s on my left and inspire young people about what can be done with this technology. And that’s what TRON is all about.”

This is a quote I wanted to emphasize before diving into the rest of the panel because it’s important to know what panel we were attending and why. The appeal of TRON does come from the stellar visuals (more on that in a moment), but admittedly, real fans understand the series has always been philosophical at its core. Kevin Flynn and Sam Flynn were essentially modern day folk heroes trying to give technology to the masses freely, and solely interested in the advancement of technology and living beings (“bio-digital jazz, man!”). Their opponents were often militant or corporate villains trying to use technology for the sole purpose of obtaining wealth and power. And today, I think that the themes that were at the forefront of this franchise in 1984 not only are relevant today, but that relevance has grown even deeper as the lessons from the franchise were foolishly ignored.

Enter TRON: Ares; a movie about the dangers of over-reliance on AI technology and its effects on the dangers of our world today. The continued fight between good and evil in the digital world has spilled out into the real world, and Hall H was treated first hand to this immersive experience, as we, in the audience, marveled at how the grid took over San Diego Comic Con. Take a look at our footage here:

The experience was seriously one of a kind, getting to be there. It’s not like we get TRON movies every day. In fact there has to be some record out there for the slowest a franchise has ever become a trilogy. However I digress.

As soon as Hall H was “successfully digitized,” we met the moderator of the festivities, which was none other than Kevin Smith himself! To an illustrious symphony of synth courtesy of the highly anticipated score from Nine Inch Nails, Smith introduced TRON creator Lisberger, director Joachim Rønning, and an all-star cast including Cameron Monaghan, Castro, Minhaj, Anderson, Evan Peters, Turner-Smith, Lee, Jared Leto, and the legend himself, Bridges! The crowd was on its feet clapping and hooting at every announcement as the names got bigger and bigger. I expressed my particular excitement in Lee coming out, being an incredibly huge fan of Past Lives, and excited to see her taking the lead role here.

Smith asked about Bridges’ excitement in returning to the franchise and the enduring legacy of what Lisberger created. ” ’82? 43 years ago today? C’mon man! We’re continuing the story. It’s just amazing. He created this wild world that’s so much fun to be a part of. And these times – you know, artificial intelligence. That’s on everyone’s minds and hearts these days. And to be part of telling that story is so exciting for me. Wonderful to be part of it.” Bridges’ unique voice cracked a bit, as he beamed about returning to The Grid with a twinkle in his eye and the spirit of a teenager.

As diplomatic as it seems, the TRON franchise would not be what it is without Bridges’ involvement as protagonist and signature character, Kevin Flynn. This was something Lisberger felt the need to acknowledge via a retort, saying, “Jeff Bridges. He’s the most courageous person in front of a camera. He’s been a gift to TRON since day one.” We can’t help but agree. The Flynn abides.

That being said, as nice as compliments are during a panel, we came for glimpses and insights at TRON: Ares, and thankfully, we were given these through the rest of the panel. Smith asked Rønning how he felt about stepping into The Grid following previous filmmakers, Lisberger and F1 director Joseph Kosinski. “I felt like I could bring something new to the table,” he began. “But the bar is really high. But it’s been an amazing, amazing journey. And it’s a movie for cinema. That’s why I always try to do that. But with TRON, it’s the closest thing to a guaranteed theatrical release somehow. And I get to work with these people. It’s been one hell of a ride, to be honest.” While I do respect any and all filmmakers and acknowledge the challenges of making a film, I will say I was skeptical about Rønning stepping into the director’s seat, given how much I loved Kosinski’s direction on TRON: Legacy. Young Woman and the Sea was a fairly charming movie, but I can’t call myself a fan of either Maleficent: Mistress of Evil or Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Men Tell No Tales. My greatest hope is that he does not just exist as a hired hand, because TRON really does have a style and art form of its own, that I want Rønning to just step up to the plate others set up, and just smash it out of the park!

Not long after, Bridges got candid about co-star Jared Leto and his reputation on set, “Actors work in different ways,” Bridges started. “Jared only wants to be called by his character. I thought ‘That’s interesting.'”

“He’s one of those guys?” Smith retorted.

“He’s one of those guys,” Bridges stated. “Everybody’s got different methods and modes. I can understand that, because it’s a tough part to play a program. How do I do that?…It’s a mystery. I figured I’m playing Flynn. The guy who created this thing. But I didn’t want to offend him.” He discussed his attempts to create a certain amount of intimacy with Leto on set. “I said, ‘I know your name is Ares. Can I just call you Air?’ And he said, ‘Yeah man, you can call me whatever you want.'”

Leto’s reputation as a method actor proceeds him, with stories having come from the sets of Suicide Squad among other films. It’s not always been the most spotless, especially given that on a personal level, there are still controversies around misconduct. However, the film is much bigger than a single actor, so we intend to carry on coverage for this for the sake of its stellar ensemble and the fact that we are large TRON fans, and absolutely loved hearing what fellow cast members had to say about the film.

When Smith turned his attention to Emmy and Golden Globe Nominee, Lee, regarding her attraction to the part, she responded with so much enthusiasm as a true fan. “I just wanted to ride a lightcycle!” Lee exclaimed laughing. “I told my agents to just find something where I can ride a lightcycle…I got to actually ride one, it’s insane!” This was surprisingly Lee’s first time at Comic Con, and adorably, she was overwhelmed with joy and excitement. “Am I doing this right?…This is so wild! I never thought in a hundred million years I’d be invited to participate in something like this…arguably the coolest franchise of all time, sitting here with these guys? It’s totally totally insane.”

Lee continued discussing the film as something of a sequel and reboot by saying, “This movie is so absolutely for the superfans and the die-hards, but I really think we have this exciting opportunity to usher in a whole new audience to TRON. And for a movie to be able to do that is something really rare and unique. I think we’re going to be able to connect a lot of different people with this movie.”

We were shown 2 clips from the film, in addition to a music video from Nine Inch Nails. Starting with the film clips both were just completely awesome! The first showcases a chase scene in the real world. Peters’ character Julian Dillinger (presumably another son of Ed Dillinger Sr., David Warner’s character from the 1982 original, and coming in after Cillian Murphy’s Ed Dillinger Jr. from TRON: Legacy) 3D prints two programs into the real world from The Grid: Leto’s Ares, and Turner-Smith’s Athena. He has them chase down Lee’s character Eve Kim, who has taken code from Encom, asking them to hunt her down and retrieve the code. We get a really insane high speed chase going into the city streets, with lights from their lightcycles absolutely demolishing cop cars in their pursuit of Eve, who is on a regular motorcycle. After losing Ares, manages to drive into a winding garage, with Athena relentlessly on her tail, T-1000 style. Eve, with a head start, manages to sacrifice her human motorcycle launching it off the garage divider and into Athena’s face! Athena is down, however, she gets back up. And Eve has precious seconds to escape. However without a bike, she needs a way out, which (wish granted to Lee) gives her a reason to finally ride a lightcycle.

The first clip was a lot of fun. This was hands down what we’ve been waiting for since the possibility of The Grid invading the human world was teased in TRON: Legacy. The idea of seeing lightcycles trashing cop cars and freeways, as sent by a corrupt corporate figurehead, reinforces the themes of technology and greed having a dangerous effect on the real world. However it’s also just a thrilling scene all together on an entertainment level. And Lee’s quick thinking and resourceful Eve absolutely fits into this world perfectly.

The second clip they set up showcased the opposite. Lee’s Eve finds herself on The Grid. Once more, she’s in the crosshairs of Athena. However, she is rescued last minute by Ares, who brings out something that looks like a light submersable. He assembles it around her and they thrust forward into, what appears to be, digital liquid. Other light guards are chasing after them, and Ares is able to convert his light-sub into a light-ski (light jetski) and they end up having to outrun Athena’s troops. Ares finds a portal to the real world, and manages to propel him and Eve through it to an unknown fate.

The footage was a lot of fun. With the TRON universe, the aesthetic and the high speed thrills are what most are going for, and so far in these two sequences, they have delivered. It definitely looks like this chapter is going for a more action-forward direction overall. Whether or not Leto’s Ares becomes a likeable character or not remains to be seen. A good guy, yes. But a likable good guy? We’ll see. However, I do think Lee’s Eve feels quite likable. And Turner-Smith’s role as Athena is so far looking and feeling menacing.

“Athena and Ares are comrades,” she states. “They’re soldiers in arms. And I think that, as Ares is having this awakening (or maybe malfunction in Athena’s mind) she is also having one of her own. But it takes her in a different direction that is entirely less measured in compassion.”

Smith went down the line and asked Minhaj and Castro what it feels like coming from a comedy background to a film like TRON.

“It’s very cool to be a Chief Technical Officer of ENCOM,” stated Minhaj. “The scale is incredible. Looking at how big the sets are, coming from comedy it’s very impressive.”

“I actually had to have a conversation with myself before going on the set,” Castro said. “I said, ‘Whatever happens just keep cool. You’ve done this a couple of times.’ But then when I saw the set build, I lost all sense of decorum and was like ‘Oh my god, we’re in TRON!’ It was like walking into Disneyland every day. And I’m not just saying that because they sign my checks or because they have my family hostage.”

“Shoutout to The Walt Disney Corporation,” Minhaj joked. “Thank you so much. And let this film bring as much shareholder value to the company as possible…No but shoutout to the props department. They actually fully recreated Flynn’s office from the 1982 film. And I don’t know. I didn’t steal anything from the Props Department. But everything looked exactly like it did in the 1982 film.”

“You’re kind of pointing at me,” Castro ribbed back. “I thought we were going to keep that a secret…Anyway it was a dream come true. I honestly thought we were shooting a romcom until I saw this footage. It doesn’t look that romantic. But I can’t wait to share it with all of you!”

The panel came to a close with a music video/laser light show of one of the Nine Inch Nails tracks from the soundtrack. The music, so far, has been absolutely terrific, and I’m glad that it’s looking likely the score will rival that of what Daft Punk did in TRON: Legacy. It perfectly encapsulates the synth electronic identity of the TRON franchise, and who better to orchestrate this than Trent Reznor.

Overall, TRON: Ares was arguably the most elaborate panel we saw at Comic Con, and in terms of sheer spectacle, I was admittedly impressed by the scope of what Disney did to immerse all of us in The Grid. A good Hall H panel needs to build hype and get you excited for a film. And I can safely say the TRON: Ares panel will likely stand for me as the best panel of Comic Con 2025! I simply cannot wait to enter The Grid for real this October!

TRON: Ares hits theaters October 10th, 2025!