Well, this sucks.
Despite the project being in the early stages of development, with a director and cast members supposedly returning, it appears that Disney has decided to pull the plug on its long-rumored third Tron movie.
THR reports from inside sources that Tron 3 has been cancelled, probably for good. It’s important to note that the project never officially received the green light, however Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski and stars Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde were expected to return for the third film.
What’s interesting as that while it was never greenlit, there was still plans in place including to shoot in Vancour later this year and even interest in bringing future Joker Jared Leto on-board for an unspecified, but presumably crucial, role but negotiations never got started on that aspect.
So why the change of plans? Well, there is no official comment from Disney as of yet but speculation is abound. It could be that the disappointing box office return on Tomorrowland, another ambitious otherworldly live action sci-fi/fantasy project, has made it unappealing to take a perceived risk on another Tron, a series that contains a bold neon world that’s quite a hard sell when you think about it, at least to general, non-sci-fi fans.
Legacy did pretty good at the box office, more than $400 million worldwide. However, it cost upwards of $170 million to make and perhaps Disney don’t want to spend that amount of money to bring that world to life again when a runaway success isn’t at all guaranteed. The studio has had recent success with live action fantasy fare like Maleficent and Cinderella but those are very much aimed at a lucrative, Frozen-loving market that Tron just can’t tap into.
It’s not as if Disney will be hurting without Tron as they still have plenty to set the box office alight with including The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland sequel Through the Looking Glass and Beauty and the Beast. Still, Legacy was a very entertaining, visually fantastic updating of a cult classic with an amazing Daft Punk-led soundtrack and I genuinely think the franchise deserved another installment.
Oh well…
Source: THR