Why Tron: Ares Scrapped Its Plan to Use AI in Sci-Fi Movie

According to a new report, Disney’s upcoming Tron: Ares originally planned to use AI in the movie.

Why did Tron: Ares scrap its AI plans?

In a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Disney was said to have looked into the use of incorporating AI ahead of the film’s production.

Due to Tron: Ares’ plot — which sees an AI-generated soldier entering the real world — executives reportedly pitched the idea of incorporating AI into one of the film’s characters. The report mentions that the film would’ve included an animated character named Bit.

Acting as a sidekick to Jeff Bridges‘ character, the report mentions that a writer would’ve used a generative AI program to feed context to Bit. The AI program, which would be voiced by an actor, would then respond to questions from Bridges as they filmed.

While Disney originally considered this option, the report mentions that negotiations with unions representing writers and actors were happening at the same time, and Disney ended up scrapping the idea. The report mentions that Disney executives were told internally that Disney didn’t want to risk any “bad publicity” on what it would be like to incorporate AI into the movie.

Tron: Ares is set to release in theaters on October 10, 2025. The film stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges, and Sarah Desjardins.

Tron: Ares will be the third official feature film in Disney’s Tron franchise following 1982’s Tron and 2010’s Tron: Legacy. The film is directed by Joachim Rønning, who previously made 2019’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and 2024’s Young Woman and the Sea. He also co-directed 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales with Espen Sandberg. The script for the film is written by Jesse Wigutow.

(Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Originally reported by Anthony Nash on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net