Jared Leto Opens Up About "Tron: Ares" Role: 'Putting on the Suit Was a Big Deal for Me' (Exclusive)
08/10/2024 12:03 PM
The first extended look at the third 'Tron' installment was unveiled at Disney's D23 event on Aug. 9
Leah Gallo/Disney
Jared Leto is getting in on the Tron universe.
At the D23 event on Friday, Aug. 9, Disney provided the first extended look at Tron: Ares, and Leto, 52, who plays a villain in the upcoming film, told PEOPLE that the project will speak to "the culture and the technology of the times that we're living in."
More specifically, the film appears to have AI at its core, with Evan Peters' character saying, "We've been looking in the wrong direction for intelligent life," in the trailer, per Entertainment Weekly.
Leto's character, meanwhile, takes a more sinister tone to say: "I came here to find something. Something important. Permanence."
Related: Jeff Bridges 'Returns to the Grid' in New Tron Sequel, Over 40 Years After Original
After the first extended look was unveiled at D23 Expo, Leto told PEOPLE that joining the Tron franchise, which he has long been a fan of, is "incredible."
Leah Gallo/Disney
'Tron: Ares'"I mean, I must have seen the first Tron couple dozen times growing [up]," he told PEOPLE. "I loved — I still love — Tron. It was a pleasure when I was researching and kind of developing the character to visit the first film and the second film multiple times, and that was really fun for me as a kid."
The Requiem for a Dream actor also recalled that he "really fell in love with the technology" in the films as a child.
"It was a world that I hadn't seen before," he said. "Of course, at that time, video games were an important part of culture, so that first film really spoke to computers, video games, and that's what I think is interesting about Tron is it kind of speaks to the culture and the technology of the times that we're living in. And we certainly did that with the third one as well."
As for stepping into his role, Leto also said that "putting on the suit was a big deal for me."
"And they built an amazing suit," he continued. "I think I probably could have used the suit in the real world in certain circumstances, like wearing a piece of armor head to toe. It's about 45 pounds, but still flexible. But when you put it on, you feel like a warrior — and Ares, like the name, is indeed a warrior."
In February, Disney released its first look at the film — a still of a neon red character — along with confirmation of many of the actors linked to the project: Greta Lee, Hasan Minhaj,Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan and Gillian Anderson.
Jeff Bridges, who played leading man Kevin Flynn in both the original 1982 film and the 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy, also confirmed he'd be making a return in May, noting during an appearance on the Film Comment podcast that he was "really anxious to work" with Leto and that he "admired his work."
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Jeff Bridges returns to the grid. #TronArespic.twitter.com/Ib5tnazwHT
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) April 29, 2024
The original Tron movie follows Flynn, a computer hacker who is transported into a digital world and must fight his way out. The sequel released almost three decades later, Tron: Legacy, added Garret Hedlund to the cast, portraying Flynn's son Sam, who re-enters the digital world in search for his missing father.
"Tron: Ares builds upon the legacy of cutting-edge design, technology and storytelling," said director Joachim Rønning, known for directing recent installments in the Maleficent and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises. "Now more than ever, it feels like the right time to return to the Grid."
Tron: Ares is in theaters on Oct. 10, 2025.
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