Major 'TRON' Franchise Changes Coming Next Month, Parks and Streaming Affected

The massive Disney flop is heading to the small screen as a Disney World attraction officially shuts down very soon.

Disney’s long-gestating return to the Grid arrived in theaters this year with TRON: Ares (2025), the third theatrical installment in the studio’s cult-favorite sci-fi franchise. Directed by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) filmmaker Joachim Rønning, the film shifts the focus of the series in a bold new direction, exploring what happens when the digital world doesn’t just collide with reality—but actively invades it.

Set years after the events of Tron: Legacy (2010), TRON: Ares centers on a powerful new Program sent from the Grid into the human world, marking the first true contact between humanity and sentient artificial intelligence created inside ENCOM’s systems.

That Program is Ares, portrayed by Jared Leto, who anchors the film as a sleek, imposing figure designed for infiltration rather than rebellion. Ares’ mission puts him in direct contact with Eve Kim, played by Greta Lee, the new CEO of ENCOM, whose ambitions for technological dominance may have consequences far beyond the digital frontier.

The supporting cast adds further weight to the story, with Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and Gillian Anderson appearing in key roles that expand the film’s corporate, political, and philosophical stakes. Longtime fans were also treated to the return of Jeff Bridges, whose presence reconnects Ares to the legacy of Kevin Flynn and the franchise’s foundational mythology.

Visually and tonally, TRON: Ares leans heavily into a darker, more industrial aesthetic than its predecessors, a shift reinforced by the film’s pulsating score from Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. While the film’s ambitious ideas and striking imagery earned praise, critics were divided on its narrative execution, resulting in a mixed critical response overall.

Audience reactions proved somewhat warmer, with viewers responding positively to the film’s world-building and sensory experience, even as some questioned its emotional depth compared to Tron: Legacy.

At the box office, however, TRON: Ares struggled to justify its massive price tag. With a reported production budget estimated between $180 and $220 million, the film opened to a modest domestic debut and ultimately earned approximately $142 million worldwide. Despite briefly topping the box office during its opening weekend, the film experienced a sharp drop in subsequent weeks, signaling weak word-of-mouth and limited staying power.

By most industry estimates, the film is expected to post a substantial financial loss for Disney once global marketing costs are factored in, placing its future theatrical prospects in serious doubt.

That said, TRON: Ares is far from the end of the road for the franchise—especially on streaming. Disney has confirmed that the film will join Disney+ on January 7, giving it a second life with audiences who may have skipped its theatrical run. Once it arrives on the platform, TRON: Ares will sit alongside the original 1982 Tron, 2010’s Tron: Legacy, and the animated series Tron: Uprising, allowing fans to experience the franchise’s evolution in one place.

During the promotion and release of TRON: Ares, Disney also cross-collaborated with its parks empire, transforming the TRON Lightcycle / Run attraction in Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom. The overlay is also set to end in January 2026, per reports from cast members at the park.

How do you feel about the future of the TRON franchise? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!