New Tron: Ares image is released and the director talks Nine Inch Nails composing the soundtrack

Tron: Ares director Joachim Rønning recently commemorated the wrapping of filming earlier this summer with some behind-the-scenes images and stating, “That’s a wrap on TRON: ARES. Thanks to an incredible and tireless crew, I really believe we pushed the filmmaking limits on this movie. Even through six weeks of night shoots you never slowed down. Also, a big thank you to our wonderful cast for leaving everything on screen. I can’t wait to show the world what we’ve done.” It was also revealed that Nine Inch Nails is scoring the film in place of the last film’s composers, Daft Punk.

Empire has recently shared a new picture from the upcoming Tron: Ares that teases more of Jared Leto’s character — the titular Ares. Additionally, Rønning has also explained more about his intended heavier score with Nine Inch Nails, saying, “With Nine Inch Nails making the music, this installment will be a little grittier, a little bit more industrial. It’s been important for me to contrast The Grid and the real world. In that sense, Nine Inch Nails lends itself perfectly into this new Tron world that we are creating.”

He also explains that the darker tone of the music will not necessarily mean the tone of this entry will be more melancholy, but there will also be some heart and human spirit emanating from the soundtrack. Rønning expounded, “What I always look for in any story is a strong emotional core. This film will probably be more emotional than people are expecting. It’s about the cost of being human.”

Tron: Ares “follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.” The film stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson.

To the delight of Tron fans, it was confirmed that Jeff Bridges will also return. “I’m heading off this Saturday to play a part in the third installment of the Tron story,” Bridges said. “I’m excited about that. It’s wild. Jared Leto is the star of this third one, and I’m really anxious to work with him, and I’ve admired his work.” He also spoke about the visual effects of the last Tron movie, which found him digitally de-aged in a way that didn’t always work. “[I’m really excited] to see what the technology is going to be all about [this time],” he said. “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 felt like I looked more like Bill Maher than myself; it was kind of bizarre [laughs]. 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 is set to hit theaters on October 10, 2025.