Everything to Know About ‘Tron: Ares’: Release Date, Plot & Cast

Fifteen years after we last ventured into the Grid on the big screen, we’re finally getting a brand-new Tron movie. Tron: Ares hits theaters on Oct. 10, and this installment — directed by Joachim Rønning — looks to be far larger in scope than the previous two entries.

Ready to rev up your light-cycle and hit the digital plane of the Grid with the next movie in the Tron series? Here’s your complete guide to getting ready for Tron: Ares.

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When Does ‘Tron: Ares’ Come Out?

Tron: Ares releases in theaters across the United States on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025.

What is ‘Tron: Ares’ About?

SPOILER WARNING: Spoilers for Tron and Tron: Legacy ahead.

Details are sparse, but if the franchises’ history is any guide, we can expect the plot of Tron: Ares to focus on yet another attempt by the digital denizens of the Grid to take over the corporeal world. (Since, you know, that’s what the last two movies were about.)

Adding further proof to this theory, the trailer seems to show a big, red, menacing ship of some kind flying low over what appears to be a real-world city. Since Quorra apparently became human at the end of Tron: Legacy, there’s also now some precedent for digital-corporeal world crossover.

What we do know is that the plot will center on Jared Leto’s character, the sophisticated warrior-computer program Ares, and his mission into the corporeal realm. Whether Ares means well for humanity or if he’s merely a harbinger of invasion, remains yet to be seen. The trailer certainly seems to make him out as an AI-fueled weapon that can be mass-produced on demand but leaves open the door to his potential questioning of his programming and orders.

We also know that the franchise’s iconic light-cycle bikes will certainly make an appearance in the real world. They’re heavily featured in the trailer.

Speaking of the trailer, check it out below.

‘Tron: Ares’ Trailer

Here’s the trailer for Tron: Ares from Disney:

How Does ‘Tron: Ares’ Fit Into the ‘Tron’ Universe?

The Tron franchises’ storyline spans decades, starting in the early 1980s with the events of the original movie up until — presumably — the events of Tron: Ares.

Here’s how each of the movies, including Ares fits into the Tron timeline in order of story chronology:

• Tron – 1982: The main events of Tron take place. Kevin Flynn attempts to break into his former company’s systems to prove that his rival, Ed Dillinger, had stolen credit for his work. He is digitized by a malevolent AI, the Master Control Program, and transported into the Grid, a digital world where he stops the AI from taking over both the digital and corporeal worlds.
• Tron: Uprising (2012 animated series considered canon) – 1989-1990: Beck, a computer program inside the Grid, leads a revolt against Clu, the villain in Tron: Legacy, after being trained to fight by Tron.
• Tron: Legacy – 2010: Sam Flynn, Kevin Flynn’s son, discovers a mysterious terminal that belonged to his missing father in his rundown arcade. When he interacts with it, he is transported to the Grid, where, he learns, his father has been trapped by the evil Clu. Together, the Flynns and a computer program named Quorra fight Clu, allowing Sam and Quorra to escape the Grid. Quorra becomes a flesh-and-blood human.
• Tron: Ares – 2025: A highly skilled and intelligent computer program named Ares is sent on a mission into the real world.

Cast of ‘Tron: Ares’

Tron: Ares features an ensemble cast of A-list actors, led by Jared Leto and including Jeff Bridges, Hasan Minhaj and Greta Lee.

Here’s the full cast of Tron: Ares:

• Jared Leto as Ares: Ares, the film’s titular character, is a super-intelligent computer program created by Julian Dillinger and sent on a high-priority mission into the corporeal world.
• Greta Lee as Eve Kim: Eve is the current chief executive officer of ENCOM, the computer technology company from the original Tron film. She is searching for Kevin Flynn’s “Permanence Code,” which could allow digital entities to exist in real life.
• Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger: The grandson of Ed Dillinger, the conniving executive and Flynn’s rival from the original Tron movie. Julian Dillinger is in charge of Dillinger Systems and created Ares. He’s also after Flynn’s code.
• Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena: Ares’ second-in-command program.
• Cameron Monaghan as Caius: Caius a combat program and member of Ares’ elite special forces unit.
• Hasan Minhaj as Ajay Singh: Singh is Eve’s business partner and chief technology officer of ENCOM
• Arturo Castro as Seth Flores: Eve’s colleague and friend.
• Gillian Anderson as Elisabeth Dillinger: Ed Dillinger’s daughter and Julian Dillinger’s mother.
• Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn: The former chief executive officer of ENCOM who created the Tron video game and previously sacrificed himself in the Grid in the last film. He is also the father of Sam Flynn, the protagonist of Tron: Legacy.
• Sarah Desjardins in an undisclosed role

Are Sam Flynn and Quorra from ‘Tron: Legacy’ in ‘Tron: Ares’?

No, Sam Flynn and Quorra will not appear in Tron: Ares. The film’s creators made this decision deliberately, since they wanted to explore an entirely new angle to the Tron universe rather than continuing the existing storyline.

Who Wrote the Soundtrack for ‘Tron: Ares’?

The soundtrack for Tron: Ares was written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who wrote under the name of their iconic band, Nine Inch Nails.

The score is the first feature-film soundtrack ever released under the Nine Inch Nails name and was done so at the request of Disney. Reznor founded the band in 1988, and Ross became the band’s only other permanent member in 2016.

Reznor and Ross most recently composed the soundtrack for the 2020 film Soul, they’ve been responsible for music in multiple iconic films, including The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Bird Box and Gone Girl. Reznor has also written music for other famous films including Natural Born Killers and The Crow.

Was Daft Punk Involved with the ‘Tron: Ares’ Soundtrack?

No, Daft Punk, who wrote the soundtrack for Tron: Legacy, was not involved in any of the composition for the Tron: Ares soundtrack. The iconic French house music duo broke up in 2021. Reznor has said Daft Punk’s approach to the previous Tron film did influence his writing process for Ares, however.

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