Hideo Kojima Reviews Tron: Ares — Depeche Mode Easter Eggs Steal the Show
Tron surges into theaters, rebooting the grid with neon-soaked spectacle and a high-voltage rush.
Hideo Kojima has weighed in on Tron: Ares, and yes, it is exactly the kind of oddly specific observation you expect from him. Not a thumbs up, not a takedown, just the one detail that lodged in his brain.
Kojima watched it, and this is the thing he kept thinking about
The game designer-turned-social-media cinephile caught Tron: Ares and, true to form, zeroed in on a needle-drop choice more than anything else. He posted about it on Twitter on October 19, 2025, and did not tip his hand on whether he actually liked the movie. That is kind of his whole deal: he rarely goes negative, he just highlights what fascinated him.
Watched TRON: Ares. What stuck with me was how Ares kept bringing up the Depeche Mode song 'Just Can’t Get Enough' from the Vince Clarke era throughout the film.
Compared to how effusive he has been lately about Robert Eggers' Nosferatu and Ryan Coogler's Sinners, this reads more like a curious observation than a rave. For what it is worth, he has called Sinners one of his favorite films of the year, alongside Conclave.
Quick context on the movie itself
Tron: Ares is the long-in-the-works third entry in Disney's neon-soaked sci-fi series. It opened in theaters on October 10, 2025. Jared Leto plays Ares, a highly advanced AI program that becomes self-aware, refuses to follow orders, runs into the opposition, and finds a way to push himself closer to human. From there, he pivots to undermining his former master's plans. The cast also includes Jodie Turner-Smith, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges.
How it is landing so far
The reviews are mixed and the numbers are soft. As of now, it sits at 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. GamesRadar+ gave it 2.5 out of 5. At the box office, it came in under projections: just 33 million dollars in the US over its first weekend, on a reported 180 million dollar budget. After weekend two, the worldwide tally has barely cleared 100 million dollars. Not exactly the victory lap you want for a franchise comeback this pricey.
- Release date: October 10, 2025
- Rotten Tomatoes: 53%
- GamesRadar+ score: 2.5/5
- US opening weekend: 33 million dollars
- Estimated budget: 180 million dollars
- Worldwide total after weekend two: just over 100 million dollars
About that sequel setup
There is a post-credits scene that clearly tees up more story, which tells you Disney had follow-ups in mind. With the current reception and the early box office, that future is a lot murkier. Could it still happen? Maybe. But the momentum is not great right now.
Tron: Ares is in theaters now.