With Joseph Kosinski in place and a production set to start October in Vancouver, we now can confirm that TRON: ASCENSION will also see the return of the two main stars of TRON: LEGACY. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund will return for the follow-up to their 2010 sequel.
It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Hedlund and Wilde would reprise their roles as Sam Flynn and Quorra respectively. The ending of TRON: LEGACY placed the two characters in the real world and hinted that the Grid could expand into our reality. It is unknown how exactly TRON: ASCENSION will continue the story but rumors have consistently pointed at Cillian Murphy's character of Edward Dillinger, Jr. as being a significant one for the new film.
TRON: LEGACY grossed $400 million worldwide and showed that the long-awaited sequel (28 years after the original TRON) could still bring in the audiences. An animated series, TRON: UPRISING, has already bridged some of the events between the first and second films, so who knows how many options there could be for TRON: ASCENSION. With a six month shoot set at the end of this year, I would anticipate this could end up being much bigger than we expect.
TRON: ASCENSION is slated for a 2016 release.