Tron: Ares Post-Credits Scene Is the Key to Tron 4, Director Teases

Yes, you should stay through the credits. Tron: Ares tees up a fourth movie, and director Joachim Ronning is already talking about where this thing could go next. The tease at the end is not subtle, and it digs into some very nerdy Tron history in a way longtime fans are going to clock immediately.

Quick heads up: mild spoilers for Tron: Ares below.

So what actually happens in Ares?

• Eve Kim (Greta Lee) is now running Kevin Flynn's old company, ENCOM, and she is hunting down Flynn's prized 'permanence code.' In this world, AI can only exist outside the Grid for 29 minutes. The permanence code would let an AI become real. You do not need me to explain why that might rearrange humanity as we know it.
• Across the street at rival Dillinger Systems, Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) is very much living up to his notorious family name. He builds a military AI called Ares, plus a female counterpart named Athena.
• When Julian learns Eve might have the permanence code, he sends Ares after her. That backfires: Ares goes off-mission, starts protecting Eve, and decides he wants the code for himself so he can become human.
• Things escalate fast. After destroying most of the city and losing the AIs he created, Julian bails. To dodge the cops, he zaps himself into the Grid.
• In the post-credits scene, Julian shows up wearing an outfit that sure looks like Sark's, and an identity disc lights up. Translation: the door is wide open for a legacy villain return.

The Tron 4 tease, explained

Ronning is clearly thinking beyond Ares. He talks about using that stinger to line up a continuation centered on Evans Peters' Julian, and he is downright giddy about revisiting the original Grid and what that means for a specific character reveal.

'If we are lucky enough to make another one, bringing back Sark is the scene I want to shoot. Going back to the original Tron Grid felt like touching the holy grail of VFX. Fun fact: the first movie wasn't even eligible for a VFX Oscar in 1982 because the Academy thought using computers was cheating. The tease at the very end is a hint of what's to come, and Julian Dillinger is a strong starting point for that continuation.'

That little awards-history wrinkle is wild, and you can feel the VFX folks buzzing about revisiting that era. Ronning says Industrial Light & Magic practically shouted 'Oh my God!' when they stepped into that old-school aesthetic again. It is a geeky, specific thrill that also happens to set up the next chapter.

The cast is game to keep going

Jared Leto, who has been loudly pro-Tron for years, would happily turn this into an annual ritual.

'I wish there was a Tron series. I could handle a film every year or two. Tron is like a favorite album for me, so being part of something I also love as a fan is pretty special.'

By the end of Ares, Eve is already reshaping ENCOM in a big way. Meanwhile, Ares is out there sending her postcards from his travels like a freshly self-aware gap-year student. Greta Lee is ready for whatever the next movie looks like:

'There is so much more we could show, especially because this story mirrors the world right now. Think how much will change by the time we get to the next one. It is complicated and dynamic, and I can't wait to see what happens.'

Who made this one, and who is in it?

Ronning directs from a script by Jesse Wigutow. Alongside Greta Lee and Evan Peters, the cast includes Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Sarah Desjardins, Cameron Monaghan, and, yes, Jeff Bridges.

Tron: Ares hits theaters on October 10.