It has been 14 years since Tron: Legacy hit theaters. And while we might need a refresher ahead of next year’s Tron: Ares, we should all remember at least one thing: the de-aging effects were suspect at best. Now, de-aging was still relatively new when Tron: Legacy came out in 2010 – and its usage does have some supporters – but Jeff Bridges still looks so phony…and he knows it!
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via THR), Jeff Bridges recalled the de-aging of Tron: Legacy as nothing short of a disaster. “It’s the new thing…I got scanned and in the computer for when we did Tron 2 — What was it called? — Legacy. I wasn’t particularly fond of that recreation of myself. I thought I looked more like Bill Maher than myself.” And yes, he means that as an insult.
The de-aging effects of Tron: Legacy were almost immediately dated, a relic of an experimentation gone wrong. To me, they short of look like something out of Heartbeeps…While it would be great if the team would go back and re-do them, with even the most recent attempts at de-aging ranging from pretty shoddy to solid, it doesn’t seem it has been perfected just yet. In short, good luck, Robert Zemeckis!
Jeff Bridges, for his part, is still down to see where the Tron series goes, especially since so much time has passed since Legacy. “[I’m really excited] to see what the technology is going to be all about [this time]. When I did Tron: Legacy, we had to put all these dots on our face and all these kinds of things. And that’s [probably] all passé. I had to see myself as a young guy or as another character, but the same guy, but it was gonna be digitally created. I think it was [de-aging], but I didn’t like the way I looked in it…I’m anxious to see what the technology and what it will be. I hear there’s even less A.I. stuff in this. It’s going to be more a practical set, and they’re beautiful; there are beautiful sets that I’ve seen.”
Tron: Ares will hit theaters on October 10th, 2025.
What are your thoughts on the de-aging effects in Tron: Legacy nearly 15 years later? Share your thoughts with us below!