TRON: ARES—Science Fiction That's Alarmingly Close to the Present

The first trailer of the Tron saga's third installment was released a few days ago and, even though it doesn't tell a lot about the plot, it does highlight something all fans—and non-fans, I dare say—of this story can't ignore: the line dividing the real and digital worlds is blurring and there's apparently no going back. But this isn't limited to the world imagined by Steven Lisberger and inspired by the video game Pong and Kubrick's Spartacus 43 years ago, no. Fiction surpassed reality. The unimaginable became tangible and neither Lisberger himself nor the rest of the 500 people involved in that commercial failure with Jeff Bridges as the visible face never imagined what would come later. Actually, thinking twice about it, nobody saw it coming. Or maybe somebody did. Who knows for sure?

What we can affirm is that we have been sensing several revolution signs in the air for years now. Nowadays, technology advancement allows millions of people to feel they are inside the story regarding video games and not simply interacting as spectators in the distance. Yes, it may seem obvious and even redundant to mention it, but this is part of a greater, overlooked problem. What's the limit of this "connection"? Does it even exist? Is there a sense of responsibility regarding what's released versus what's obtained from those results? I remember as if it were yesterday when we played Daytona with my friends in the arcade. It was exciting. The graphics weren't the best, I know. Today, they would look ridiculously rough and unattractive, but what mattered—and still matters, I want to believe—was the fun, the distraction, setting problems aside and living childhood as it should be.

In the above images, it can be seen that, once again and inevitably, visual/special effects will be THE key element to appreciate the experience. It's the first time that Industrial Light & Magic, modern Hollywood's iconic and characteristic special effects studio regarding VFX matters founded by George Lucas in 1975, is in charge of the effects in this saga. Together with the soundtrack composed by Nine Inch Nails—Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the two geniuses responsible for bringing to life those catchy, enigmatic synthesizers you can hear in David Fincher's works—the project invites us to dream, at least from its aesthetic.

But let's do a recap of what Tron is about and why it may be a huge inspiration for future cinematographic works based on video games that will surely have a greater impact than today. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is a former employee of the software corporation ENCOM who, after getting fired, turned into a hacker and now runs a video games arcade—hey, where did you steal that idea from? A Minecraft Movie? After discovering that a senior executive stole the ideas to develop five videogames he created, Flynn is transported by a complex laser mechanism that splits his molecules into a digital code and uploads him into the corporation's digital world. It may be possible that Tron laid part of the foundations for both the Matrix saga and a handful of movies that portray the simulation hypothesis we allegedly live in.

At the time, the unsurprising flop of this movie—one Disney FAILED to bet the farm on in the same year Blade Runner premiered, another inexplicable failure regarding profitability in parallel to this one—buried all the related projects of, at least, ten years ahead. Interestingly, 11 years later, Spielberg, an expert in the matter and frequent collaborator of the special effects company run by Lucas, premiered Jurassic Park with an ace up his sleeve: he had just revolutionized visual effects as never before in the film industry.

The idea of producing a sequel back then seemed tempting but, according to the masterminds behind the visual department, they wanted to reach an "immersion level they weren't ready for yet"—any similarity with the 14-year gap between Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water for similar reasons is mere coincidence. 28 years have passed since this flashy experiment that failed back then and its—unexpected?—sequel, Tron: Legacy, an extremely entertaining science fiction cyberpunk adventure with some action scenes that simply take our breath away due to how incredibly cool they are. 15 years have passed since the premiere, and Hollywood still owes a huge apology to those who received the criticism against this more than decent sequel.

Some of the vaguely explored concepts, like consciousness transfer, digital governance and neuroscience, that worked just as theory in the first installment turn out to be true in this neon journey brilliantly orchestrated by newbie Joseph Kosinski—who, 12 years later, would present one of the best sequels of all time once again, Top Gun: Maverick. The gap between both worlds is gradually thinner. This can be reflected in Sam's journey, Kevin's son, when teleporting to "the Grid." Paths are simpler, everything evolved, but did it really? What is devotion for these alleged upgrades useful for when, regarding principles and values, we are still far behind like thousands of years ago?

Tron: Ares presents a radical narrative twist in which, opposite to these first two installments, a program "escapes" its environment to merge with reality. An allegory of our current relationship with AI? Is it too late to revert the process? What's the purpose of this leap into the real world? We will find out in October. Meanwhile, let's be careful. We shouldn't take this so lightly.

Published on MAY 8, 2025, 22:24 PM | UTC-GMT -3

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