Exclusive: Tron 3 Character Details Revealed
Tron 3 will feature new program characters deviating from programming and at least one new human.
After years of development, Tron 3 is finally going into production in August and details are emerging about the characters and story. According to our trusted and proven sources, Jared Leto’s character Ares will be joined by a number of allies and antagonists (as one might expect), and while actors have not yet been cast and/or announced, we have some idea of what those characters will be about. Most likely, Tron 3 will serve as a continuation of the plot of 2010’s Tron: Legacy, but it is unclear whether any of the characters from that movie will reappear.
Tron 3 is officially titled Tron: Ares, with Jared Leto playing the title character. While little is known of him so far, the context seems to indicate that Ares is a computer program, rather than a human who is transported to the digital alternate reality known as the Grid, as were previous protagonists Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund). Specifically, it appears that Tron 3 will involve Ares as the commander of an elite combat unit of program some kind of war in the Grid who finds himself developing emotions and doubts about his function.
Another character that will be introduced is named Athena, a female-depicted program who acts as Ares’ lieutenant (indicated by their paired Greek mythology-inspired names). When Jared Leto breaks away from the squad (no doubt prompting the central conflict of Tron 3), it is Athena who reports his deviation and takes over command, hunting down her former leader. Athena is described as being icy and physically imposing, completely unable to experience fear or doubt in combat. If we were fan-casting, we could imagine Charlize Theron having the action movie chops to play a tragic but deadly figure like her.
In addition to Ares and Athena, Tron 3 will feature at least one more program as a primary character, a soldier program named Canus. Keeping with the mythological theme, this could be a reference to a legendary Argonaut known for his incredible strength or possibly as a play on words on Canis (Latin for dog, as in dog of war). This program is described as being older than the others and experiences a moment of fear in a battle that presumably prompts the same kind of deviation as Ares. Fan-casting: let’s say, Clancy Brown.
Tron 3 will also feature several human characters, including a primary female lead named Eve, who is described as one of the best programmers in the world and nearly as detached from human emotion as the programs themselves. She will most likely be zapped into the Grid as were Bridges and Hedlund before her, but while their zest for life defined them, it sounds like she will be learning how to be human at the same time as the programs. As the character is specifically described as Asian and older than 30, we are going to fan-cast Gemma Chan.
Interestingly, Tron 3 will feature Ed Dillinger Sr. and Ed Dillinger Jr. as antagonists, both of whom have previously appeared in the films. The former was played by the late, great David Warner and will likely be brought back via either archival footage or the kind of CGI used to feature Peter Cushing in Rogue One. Dillinger Jr. was more briefly seen at the beginning of Tron: Legacy, played by Cillian Murphy, who we would not be at all sad to see returning.
The descriptions of the characters in Tron 3 indicate that there is some kind of ongoing war happening in the Grid, which will probably be the main setting of the film. It is reasonable to assume that it is a battle between opposing programs after the fall of Jeff Bridges’ evil program Clu in Tron: Legacy, with both sides attempting to seize power. We can’t wait to see what they both want.
