Explanation of the ending and ending scenes of “Tron: Ares”.
This story contains spoilers for “Tron: Ares“.
Get ready to hit the net: “Tron: Ares” has finally hit theaters.
Directed by Joachim Rönning, “Tron: Ares” is the third installment in the classic sci-fi series that began with 1982’s “Tron.” Like many recent films that are part of an expanding Hollywood franchise, “Tron: Ares” makes sure to leave the door open for future storytelling.
“Tron: Ares” does this in the closing moments of the film’s main story as well as in the shot that plays after the credits roll.
The film, set sometime after the events of “Tron: Legacy” (2010), stars Jared Leto as an advanced artificial intelligence program named Ares created by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), a programmer and rising CEO of a technology company. Greta Lee plays Eve Kim, who is also a programmer and CEO of the technology company that was led by original “Tron” hero Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges).
Although extensive knowledge of the previous films does not necessarily require an understanding of “Tron: Ares,” fans of “Tron” and “Legacy” will be the first to recognize the importance of the doors the film leaves open. (Turn back now if you want to avoid spoilers.)
Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger in “Tron: Ares.”
(Leah Gallo/Disney)
The mid-credits scene is a callback to “Tron.”
“Tron: Ares” ends with Julian – the grandson of Flynn’s original “Tron” rival, Edward Dillinger – fleeing to the Dillinger Corp.
The mid-credits scene shows Julian absorbing the wreckage of his digital world before noticing his identity disk and activating it. After grabbing hold of the glowing circular object, his digital suit begins to form into a familiar silhouette.
Those who have seen “Tron” will know that Julian’s suit resembles that of Sark, the evil program written by Ed Dillinger, who led the Master Control program’s army in the original film. In the movie “Tron,” Sark was played by David Warner, who also played Ed.
The scene cements Julian as a successor to his grandfather’s legacy and leaves open the possibility of his return as a villain in a future “Tron” sequel.
Jared Leto as Ares in “Tron: Ares.”
(Leah Gallo/Disney)
‘Tron: Ares’ ends by teasing a future tie-in with ‘Tron: Legacy’
The new “Tron” movie ends by hinting that Ares’ story is far from over. In the final moments of the film, Ares is shown looking at photos of Quorra, the character played by Olivia Wilde in “Tron: Legacy.”
Quorra, like Ares, began its existence in the network and eventually made its way into the real world. But Quorra is not a man-made program; It is a “replication algorithm” or a digital object that appeared automatically in the network. She was introduced in “Legacy” as Flynn’s supervisor who was learning about humanity from him.
Could the meeting between Ares and Korra be in the future of the “Tron” series? Only time (and possibly how “Tron: Ares” will make a comeback at the box office) will tell.