8 Important Reveals From TRON: Ares’ First Look Photo

A first look photo for TRON: Ares has been released, and here are the eight most important reveals from the exciting image. Details on TRON: Ares have been pretty slim so far, but this first look image at TRON: Ares has finally revealed the design of Jared Leto’s Ares, who is seemingly the main character of the third TRON film. The image has already started creating hype for the upcoming film, with it being some of the first TRON news in years. Interestingly, this image hints at several details that could be key to uncovering the story of TRON: Ares.

1982’s TRON may not have been a massive hit from the start, but it gained a cult following and has been praised for its visual effects and forward-thinking worldbuilding. Despite this, it took decades for a TRON sequel to get made, with one not happening until 2010’s TRON: Legacy. Sadly, TRON: Legacy was a critical and commercial disappointment, leading Disney to put the franchise on a hiatus. Luckily, a third film is finally happening, with TRON: Ares being incredibly exciting despite TRON: Legacy‘s failures, and here’s a breakdown of the sequel’s first image.

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8 Tron: Ares Brings Back The Tron: Legacy Designs

The most obvious detail from the TRON: Ares first look is that it brings back the TRON: Legacy designs, something that is exciting for many fans of the franchise. Although TRON and TRON: Legacy take place in the same timeline, the two films feature entirely different looks, with TRON: Legacy‘s Grid sporting a much more modern aesthetic. TRON: Ares seems to be continuing this design pattern, with it pulling from the 2010 sequel in many ways.

It still hasn’t been confirmed if TRON: Ares is a sequel to TRON: Legacy, but this first-look image hints that it might be. TRON: Legacy provides story reasons for this updated look in the Grid, and since TRON: Ares is carrying this on, it seems likely that the Grid will have undergone the changes from the beginning of the second film. This would have a lot of implications on the story and franchise, and it all comes from this TRON: Ares first-look image.

7 Tron: Ares Introduces A Red Grid

Interestingly, the recently revealed TRON: Ares image also introduces a red Grid, which could be a bad sign for the world of the franchise. Red has always been associated with the villains of the franchise, whether that be the Master Control Program in TRON or Clu in TRON: Legacy. Both of these villains have been defeated, but this could imply that a new threat has arisen, with this threat possibly being Jared Leto’s character. A fully red Grid is something that hasn’t been seen before, with this being an interesting detail in the TRON: Ares first look.

6 Tron: Ares Has A Triangle Shaped Disc

Light Disc are one of the most important pieces of TRON iconography, as they are essential to programs. Often called identity discs, these items are attached to the backs of programs and contain every piece of data that a disc’s respective program is built of or has ever experienced. These discs can be detached and thrown as weapons, with it being the TRON franchise’s main method of battle.

Up until now, every Light Disc seen in the TRON franchise has been circular, but that isn’t the case in TRON: Ares. In the first-look image, Jared Leto’s Ares can be seen holding a triangle-shaped disc, with a triangle slot appearing on his back. It isn’t yet known why Ares has a uniquely shaped disc, but this will undoubtedly be explained when TRON: Ares releases.

5 Tron: Ares Reconfirms That Jared Leto’s Character Is A Program

The status of Jared Leto’s character in TRON: Ares has been a bit confusing, as the titular character has been part of various scrapped TRON stories for a while now. While Ares has been referred to as a program in various stages of development, many questions still remained about Ares’ status in the final version of TRON: Ares. However, Ares definitely doesn’t look like a human in this first-look image, with it reconfirming his identity as a program.

4 Tron: Ares Sets Up Jared Leto’s Ares As A Villain

Although Jared Leto’s character is in the title of TRON: Ares, this first-look image sets up the character as a villain. Programs emitting red light have always been antagonists throughout the TRON franchise, and since Jared Leto’s Ares is seen bearing this signature trait, it seems likely that he will have an antagonistic role in the upcoming film. It isn’t known if he will be the main villain, the assistant of a greater villain, or a bad program gone good. However, it is clear that Leto’s character is not a hero in TRON: Ares.

3 Tron: Ares Helmet Design Breaks A Franchise Trend

Although TRON: Ares utilizes the same designs as TRON: Legacy, the design of the helmet that Jared Leto’s character is seen wearing does break a franchise trend. In the previous two TRON movies, the main characters have all had see-through helmets that allow their faces to be seen, with this being the case with Kevin and Sam Flynn. Ares seems to be the main character of TRON: Ares, but the first-look image shows him with a dark, shaded visor, meaning that his face may not be visible while his helmet is on in TRON: Ares.

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2 Tron: Ares Looks Like It Still Takes Place In Flynn’s Grid

The TRON: Ares designs using the same look as TRON: Legacy is also a big deal due to the fact that it looks like the film still takes place in Kevin Flynn’s Grid. The reasoning for the design shakeup between TRON and TRON: Legacy is that the Grid is hosted on an ENCOM server in TRON, whereas Kevin built his own Grid at home in TRON: Legacy. Since the design of the Grid hasn’t changed, it seems as it TRON: Ares will take place in Flynn’s at-home Grid, meaning that someone reactivated it after the ending of TRON: Legacy.

1 Tron: Ares First Look Hints At The Return Of The MCP

The most exciting part of the TRON: Ares first look is that it hints at the return of the Master Control Program. Since the red light is back, that means that a villainous force has taken over the Grid once again. It is unlikely that it is Clu, since Kevin reintegrated himself with the TRON: Legacy villain, leaving the MCP as the most likely explanation. Having the MCP return in TRON: Ares would be a big deal, with the terrifying overarching antagonist of TRON bringing the franchise back to its roots.

Tron: Ares

Tron: Ares is the third film in the Tron franchise created by Steven Lisberger in the early ’80s. The movie is a direct sequel to 2010’s Tron: Legacy and stars Jared Leto in the lead role of Ares. Jesse Wigutow penned the screenplay for Disney, who previously worked on the 2015 TV Movie, The Prince. 

Director

Joachim Rønning

Release Date

December 19, 2025

Writers

Jesse Wigutow