Ares teases fans with one of Legacy’s most important plot threads

This post contains Spoilers About “Tron: Ares”

The gap between the “Tron” films narrowed with “Tron: Ares” (Read our review here) It finally arrives 15 years after “Tron: Legacy,” which comes 28 years after the original project in Grid. Like the sequel, “Tron: Ares” introduces a new cast of characters in danger of being removed to replace those noticeably missing from its predecessor. However, fans of the series need not worry, as it revolves around the past of “Tron: Legacy” as “Tron: Ares” sets up a future chapter that will hopefully arrive much sooner than it took to load this and the previous film.

Perhaps one of the boldest things that “Tron: Ares” does is dare to relate to a film that most of the time pays little attention to it. As our third journey into Greed begins, we learn that Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the son of Kevin Flynn… (Jeff Bridges, the only “Tron” cast member to return in “Ares”)and the runaway program, Quorra (Oliva Wilde) haven’t been seen since they rode off into the sunset at the end of “Legacy,” and appear to have left the business and digital worlds behind. Now, all the focus is on Flynn Jr.’s successor, ENCOM’s new CEO, Eve Kim (Greta Lee), who is searching for the permanence code that will keep digital creations in the real world, whether it’s an orange tree to solve food scarcity or Ares (Jared Leto), a runaway program designed by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the grandson of the original “Tron” antagonist, Edward Dillinger (David Warner).

It was revealed early on that Sam had since left the company and transferred ownership to Eve, but while Ares was infiltrating ENCOM, the program learned that someone else like him had managed to escape into the real world. While searching through the files trying to find Eve’s whereabouts and the stability code, he came across an article highlighting “Who is Sam Flynn’s mystery woman?” The one we knew was Quorra, before it quickly surpassed it completely. Although it is brief, it is a clear indication that the two stayed together after their adventure in the network. Only in the film’s final act does the heroic Program, now fully transformed into a human, pick up the trail and hint at what could be on the horizon.

In a letter to Eve, Ares reveals that he is traveling the world and trying to find his place in it. The last stop we saw him was in Mexico City, where he showed that he had traded in his neon clothes for more breathable linen clothes. While the shot is being taken, Ares scrolls through photos of Sam and Quorra, which have coordinates detailing their last known whereabouts written on them, ensuring that more of a sequel is being prepared than the previous films ever did. It’s just a question of what it might involve, and whether we could see the new and old generation of “Tron” teaming up against an entirely new threat.

Along with Ares heading off to find Sam Flynn, there’s a final, more ominous note that sees Julian Dillinger escaping the authorities and finding himself in the net. Running afoul of the law becomes the least of his problems, though, as after seizing an identity disk previously owned by the original “Tron” villain, Sark (David Warner), Julian appears to have become the next generation of the evil program that caused trouble in 1982.

With Julian getting this new upgrade, it’s safe to say that plans are in place for the franchise to host another battle inside or outside of The Grid, with the former head of Dillinger Systems facing off against Ares. What would be great to see is if in the impending battle both the current and former heads of ENCOM join the former program in whatever comes their way. It all depends on how well “Tron: Ares” goes moving forward.

The new threequel is a huge box office gamble for Disneyand it may take the opening weekend to determine if the fourth film will get the green light. If that happens, we may see the return of one of Flynn’s real family members, along with his girlfriend on the run from Greed. Just keep your light cycle paths crossed so that it takes less than a decade for this to happen.