TRON: Legacy
Disney failed to plunge a successful sci - fi movie franchise in the 2010s - can they deflect their previous error withTRON 3 ? The last ten years have been something of a rolling wave coaster drive for the Mouse House . They begin off the decade on an uneven musical note withTRON : Legacy , a subsequence to Steven Lisberger ’s 1982 cult classic that , although it did n’t founder , was only a modest commercial success ( gross $ 400 million on a $ 170 million budget ) and earning lukewarm followup from critics . Still , much like its predecessor , Legacyhas amassed a cult fanbase in the years since its release thanks to its blend of heady sci - fi concept , stylish CGI visuals , and the impeccable techno musical score by Daft Punk .
Because of this , Disney has never entirely give up on theTRONbrand . In addition to premiering the Disney XD animated seriesTRON : Uprisingin 2012 , the studio apartment came very close to start production onTRON 3before pulling the plug in 2015 . Two years later , it was reported the Mouse House was once travel forward again with a thirdTRONmovie , this clock time in the phase of a reboot starring Jared Leto . After that , theTRON 3news cycle went on wireless silence until lately , when Disney executive Mitchell Lieb tease apart the Leto - moderate photographic film is back on track . It ’s since been reportedthe movie is really a properTRON 3and continues ( rather than discards ) the story fromLegacy .
Related : How Tron : The Next Day Short Set Up the Cancelled Third Movie
As exciting as theTRON 3news is for fan , it fall with an asterisk . plain , the moving-picture show has the potential to succeed in fashion the old twoTRONmovies did not - but in society for that to happen , Disney will need to learn from the trip-up it ’s committed with it would - be sci - fi franchise starters in the time sinceLegacycame out .
Disney Has Struggled With Sci-Fi Movies - Including TRON
It ’s no secret Disney kepttrying ( and failing ) to produce a successful hot - activity sci - fi moviethroughout the ' tenner . At their best , these films were expensive loge authority floating-point operation that garnered middling follow-up ( Tomorrowland , A Wrinkle in Time ) , but also praised for their progressive lookout and positive subject matter . In other cases , they were applauded for pushing the terminal point of filmmaking technology to bring their fantastical preferences to life ( Mars postulate Moms , John Carter ) , yet criticized for their derivative and convoluted storytelling , and adapt information science that were nowhere near pop enough to justify Disney ’s huge expenditures . At worst , these picture show had a bad habit of watering down or change the thing buff loved about their source stuff in the hopes of making them an comfortable sell for Disney ’s target menage audience . That backfire something trigger-happy with this year ’s widely - malignedArtemis Fowl(a movie that go direct to Disney+ in reply to the COVID-19 lockdowns ) .
By comparability , TRON : Legacywent over better in 2010 , but still had its upshot . The originalTRONtruly was a religious cult film and Disney was arguably guilty of over - estimating just how much need there was for a movie continuation . More than that , it ’s not a franchise with an easy to grocery store draw likeStar Wars . passing audiences can promptly compass what the latter is about ( space battles and the battle against fascism ) , but it ’s a little knavish to get to the sum of what TRON is ( an exploration of the the digital frontier ) without putting off motion-picture fan who are n’t , per se , look for an overly cerebral sci - fi movie . It ’s no wonderDisney cancelled the originalTRON 3afterTomorrowlandbombedat the box authority in 2015 : why take a risk on the subsequence to a costly tentpole that was unmanageable to sell in the first place ( and only sort of paid off ) when you’re able to unripened - luminosity moreStar Warsfilms , MCU movies , and bouncy - action remake of your darling animated classic alternatively ?
How TRON 3 Can Avoid Disney’s Sci-Fi Movie Problems
TRON : Legacy ’s box berth woescan’t be completely pinned on its marketability problems either . As much as there is to care about the pic , Legacyis primarily focused on bump new earth with its employment of digital de - aging and 3D visuals . Its actual story is far less exciting by comparison and often boils down to a mashup of element borrowed from other moving picture ( likeThe Wizard of Oz , a movie that also follows its young hero to a fantastical billet dwell by doubles of masses in the existent world).Legacy ’s villain Clu does n’t necessarily have the most enchanting of malefic plans either , and the picture probably would ’ve benefit from allotting more of its runtime to existence - building and explaining the bigger parts of its mythology ( like what , exactly , ISOs are ) . There ’s a sentiency the film could ’ve gone deeper with its ideas , but was hindered by its need to fit the mold of a crowd - pleasing Disney blockbuster and could only devote so many scenes to Kevin Flynn ( Jeff Bridges ) peach about"bio - digital jazz"without throwing in some natural process or light comedy .
Related : Pirates of the Caribbean 6 : Why Disney is Rebooting the enfranchisement
This seems to be a repeat offspring thatkeeps tripping up Disney ’s sci - fi photographic film : they administer with catch ideas and take audiences to inventive worlds , yet force back from really exploring them in depth to avoid wander too far from the notion of the Disney firebrand . As a result , they suffer in the plot and character reference departments , and endeavor to make up the deviation through shining visuals and spectacle . To be honest , a luck of moving picture in the ' 10 were shamefaced of doing that as studio sought to recreateAvatar ’s success , soTRON : Legacyand Disney were n’t alone in this regard . If anything , TRON 3being delayed as long as it has been will make it well-to-do for its creatives to count back and see this approach just does n’t work . In the end , TRON 3 ’s success or nonstarter will follow down to its ability to employ modern applied science to serve its story - not vice versa - and worry a little less about being a " dependable " Disney flick .
TRON 3 Can Help Start A New Era of Disney Sci-Fi Movies (If It Works)
TRON 3might just be affect ahead again at the consummate time , and not only because it can ascertain from the mistakes of Disney ’s sci - fi offerings from the last decennium . The studio apartment is bank heavily on sci - fi tentpoles in cosmopolitan for the next ten years , start withthe arriver of James Cameron’sAvatar 2 in December 2021 . That sequel and the other threeAvatarfollowups Cameron ’s working on are going to be a major part of their hereafter , as are the first undulation ofStar Warsmovies they ’re contrive to release after wrapping up the Skywalker Saga . TRON 3could be pivotal in allowing Disney to turn thing around and usher in a new era of sci - fi films , in way thatLegacywas meant to do when it came out . Obviously , that could mean moreTRONmovies but , perhaps more excitingly , it could also mean more non - remaking , wise adaptations , and maybe even more strictly original sci - fi films .
Even with all that , there ’s certainly a riskTRON 3will turn out naughtily or under - do the wayLegacydid - something that could potentially kill off the franchise for full . EvenLegacydirector Joseph Kosinski has saidhe does n’t imagineTRONever becoming something that could give rise to another sequel every couple old age and feels TRON 3 needs to be"reaching for something dissimilar and innovative and ambitious,“as pit to mainly setting up succeeding movies . No doubt , Disney ’s perfectly happy to keep play things safe too ( see : all the live - action remaking they ’ve got in the word of mouth ) , andTRON 3won’t work if it tries to split the difference , like so many of the studio apartment ’s sci - fi picture in the ' decade did . So , really , there ’s no secure intellect why it should n’t attempt to unfeignedly offend raw ground for the Mouse House .
NEXT : Why Sci - Fi Movies Are So Divisive At the Box Office
