Disney Is Giving Jared Leto His Own 'Dune'

As audiences prepare to don their stillsuits again for Dune: Part Two, they might be on the cusp of an epic sci-fi renaissance. Not wanting to get left in the lurch, Disney might be trying to utilize this hype by trading the sands of Arakis to the game grid of TRON.

The Walt Disney Company recently dropped the first look for TRON: Ares (2025), and it looks far more intense than the Disney-budget Daft Punk video that was TRON: Legacy (2010) or the ’80s cult film classic that was the original TRON (1982). As audiences devour grand and majestic voyages across incredibly designed fictional worlds, Jared Leto’s take on the world of Programs, Users, and Bits might resurrect this nearly-forgotten franchise.

Related: It’s Morbin’ Time as Jared Leto Scales Berlin Hotel Facade

Although the original was a spectacle for the time and helped Disney establish a presence in the growing world of CGI animation, it wasn’t exactly the bombastic success the studio was likely predicting. TRON was far from a failure, as some publications might call it. With a budget of $17 million, making Over $33 million at the box office is hardly a flop. Still, it could be so much more.

Fans Could Trade Dune for TRON Next Year

The original TRON starred Jeff Bridges, David Warner, and Bruce Boxleitner in the title role, and while it was a moderate success at the box office in 1982, it soon fell into the realm of cult films after its original release. While it’s far from a bad movie, it’s undoubtedly an acquired taste for most viewers, making it something of a risk for Disney to continuously revive it as a franchise.

Related: Fans Pay Tribute To ‘TRON’ Star After Surprising Death

The TRON series has consistently been a financial and commercial success for the Walt Disney Company, but it’s not exactly one of the studio’s most talked about franchises. In all honesty, when was the last time the studio talked about the series outside of the TRON Lightcycle/Run coaster at Walt Disney World?

As Disney continues to push more and more IP, revisiting this series isn’t unexpected, but some might be scratching their heads as to why. As unusual as the franchise reemergence might be, the studio is undoubtedly doing something unique with this sequel/reboot.

Related: Rare $15k TRON Arcade Cabinet Saved From Garbage Truck

Per Disney’s official description,

“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 previous two films saw their human leads venturing into the virtual world of the programs, but TRON: Ares seems to flip the script by bringing a rogue program into our reality. Pair that with the dark Blade Runner vibes seen from the production photos, and Disney could very well be looking at a unique experience if its past patterns are anything to be believed.

But Could It Work?

While audiences’ tastes are highly subjective, there seems to be a growing appetite for sci-fi epics, as seen with Timothee Chamelet in Dune (2021) and its newest sequel. The latest voyage across the sands is predicted to be a massive success, but can Disney truly compete with the large-scale epic?

Related: Disney World Preparing To Alter TRON Coaster Permanently

While it might be like comparing apples to oranges to some, the parallels between both properties can’t be ignored. The argument can be made that Dune itself (at least the film adaptation) was once in TRON’s boots, a niche piece of science fiction that got a remarkable film adaptation before lying dormant for many years to be met by fan acclaim when reintroduced to popular culture.

The upcoming sequel might meet the same fate as Tomorrowland (2015) and Wish (2023) because their niche audiences might be the only demographic Disney appeals to. That said, we still have almost an entire year to wait before a proper assessment of the project can truly be given. TRON: Ares is directed by Joachim Rønning and is set to release sometime in 2025.

Are you excited to enter the game grid again? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!