Despite recent reports that a third film in the TRON saga was definitely moving forward, it looks like the House of Mouse got cold feet, and decided to pull the plug on Joseph Kosinski’s follow up to his 2010 film TRON: Legacy, which was supposedly scheduled to begin filming this fall in Vancouver, British Columbia. Stars Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund were all set to reprise their roles and, apparently, Disney had also been interested in adding Jared Leto to the cast, but an offer and negotiations had never commenced.
So what happened? No one is sure, but the reception to TRON: Legacy was lukewarm at best (aside from the awesome soundtrack from Daft Punk, who were not slated to come back for another film.) The film made money, but it didn’t move a lot of merch, which in many ways is what Disney cares about the most, as that’s where they make the most money from a franchise movie like this one. With both Marvel and Star Wars at Disney’s disposal now, not something that was a factor when TRON: Legacy went into production, Disney might have simply decided they don’t really have a dire need to make TRON something that has to be a franchise. Another possible factor in the movie’s cancellation could be the fact that Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland under-performed at the box office last weekend, and Disney might not want another costly movie that’s not a sure thing.
Of course, just because TRON 3 is cancelled now doesn’t mean it’ll never, ever happen. Disney could come around to the idea again someday, but for now, it looks like TRON: Legacy might have been our last visit the Grid for a long while.
