Meet Tron: Ares’ ‘Totally Uncompromising’ Athena: ‘Villain Era, Let’s Go’

One look at Jodie Turner-Smith in her Tron: Ares lithe suit makes it clear: you absolutely would not mess with her. The Queen & Slim star – recently seen in The Acolyte – looks undeniably formidable in her guise for Joachim Rønning’s long-awaited blockbuster, taking audiences back to the world of Tron for the first time since 2010’s Tron: Legacy. Meet Athena, second-in-command to Jared Leto’s Ares, ready to bust out of the Grid and take charge.

“She is hardcore and fierce and strong and loyal,” Turner-Smith tells Empire in our world-exclusive Tron: Ares issue. During our set visit, she walks up in a real light-up suit, with close-cropped bleach-blonde hair and eyebrow-free face – the severity of the look absolutely speaking to Athena’s role. “It’s really fun to play somebody who’s just totally uncompromising and brazenly going about accomplishing their objectives. And I was really willing to take that on right now,” she explains. “I was like, ‘Ooh, villain era, let’s go.’”

For a film all about AI going rogue, it’s fitting that Turner-Smith, too, went a little rogue – it was her decision to shave her eyebrows off, which she took into her own hands. “Joachim actually was not down for that idea,” she laughs. “They wanted me to go blonde, so I did, and I also bleached my eyebrows. And then I thought, ‘You know what? It’s gonna look better if the eyebrows are gone. If anyone’s upset, I’ll just tell them the bleach made them fall out.’ It was one of those times of asking for forgiveness rather than permission.” You don’t mess with Athena, then. And you definitely don’t mess with Jodie Turner-Smith.

Read Empire’s full Tron: Ares cover feature – going on set to get the low-down on the Grid’s glorious return from director Joachim Rønning and his cast – in the August 2025 issue, on sale Thursday 3 July. Pre-order a copy online here. Tron: Ares comes to UK cinemas from 10 October.