‘New Shit Has Come To Light’

Every time Tron comes to the screen, it reinvents itself. As revolutionary as the 1982 original was, 2010’s Tron: Legacy was a seismic shift forward in creating the binary world of the Grid. This year’s Tron: Ares is set to be another significant upgrade on the digital-world story. But all throughout Tron’s… well, legacy, one face has remained: Jeff Bridges. In the first film, he was legendary programmer Kevin Flynn (and briefly appeared as programme CLU); then in Legacy, he returned to the Grid as a much older Flynn, while a de-aged Bridges portrayed CLU 2.0, the film’s major villain. In Tron: Ares, Flynn returns once more – though how, exactly, remains a mystery.

That’s because both Flynn and CLU died in Tron: Legacy’s final act – or, at least, it looked like they did, with Flynn sacrificing himself to stop CLU entering the real world, in pursuit of Flynn’s son Sam and the last remaining ‘ISO’, Quorra. The two integrated together, before dissolving into… well, who knows? “Yeah, I was a bit surprised,” Bridges tells Empire of his return in Ares, refusing to dish on exactly how he comes back. “You know, this is the Grid. The whole digital universe is all up for grabs. It’s all possible in that place. It worked out that I still have some sort of consciousness.” Call it bio-digital jazz, man.

It’s a character Bridges still has a lot of affection for – one who’s recurred through different phases of the actor’s career. And there are still up-to-date layers to uncover in this third outing. “As human beings, we seek perfection,” muses Bridges. “And sometimes we miss the whole point of the thing — the idea of the journey being the destination. Flynn originally explored the digital world in the hopes of achieving some sort of perfection for humanity, but now… the plot thickens, you know? As The Dude might say, new shit has come to light.” Here’s hoping Flynn 3.0 has a rug that really ties the Grid together.

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.