Tron 4 Update Is Bad News for Disney Fans
Tron: Ares failing at the box office this past weekend may have been the final nail in the coffin for the Disney franchise.
Serving as a largely standalone sequel to 2010’s Tron: Legacy, Tron: Ares follows the titular highly sophisticated Program, portrayed by Jared Leto, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. Despite receiving a slightly better critical reception than Legacy, Ares came in under expectations during its opening weekend in theaters, grossing just $33 million domestically, $10 million less than Legacy made 15 years earlier.
Tron 4 Update Is Bad News for Disney Fans
Ares’ box office woes will likely terminate any plans Disney had for the future of the Tron franchise on the big screen. Sources have told The Hollywood Reporter that the studio will likely retire Tron from the big screen, meaning that Ares’ post-credits scene that director Joachim Rønning teased was a set-up for Tron 4 will likely never come to fruition, at least in this decade.
Many on social media have singled out Leto as the sole reason for the movie flopping, pointing out that his last leading role in a major IP, the Spider-Man spin-off Morbius, was also a box office bust. “In a world where Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and Benedict Cumberbatch are having a hard time getting lead roles, why would you even go to a person who can’t open a movie and who has question marks around him as a person,” remarked a top talent manager partner to THR.
However, a different insider doesn’t believe that Leto is to blame for Tron: Ares, arguing instead that the Tron franchise no longer has any appeal with casual audiences. “You could have had Ryan Gosling, it wasn’t going to work. No one asked for this reboot. If you say, ‘Tron: Ares is good, we just needed a different actor,’ you’re deluding yourself,” the insider stated.
Whether Ares has truly ended the Tron franchise for good remains to be seen. After all, the sci-fi series has a habit of returning after long hiatuses, with Ares coming 15 years after Legacy, which in turn hit theaters 28 years after the original Tron.
Tron and Tron: Legacy are available to stream on Disney+, while Tron: Ares is still playing in theaters.
Originally reported by Lee Freitag on SuperHeroHype.
Source: Comingsoon.net