Tron: Ares’s mid-credits scene explained

Spoilers follow.

“Tron: Ares” may be the second part of the “Tron: Ares” movie series. The original 1982 science fiction film Starring Jeff Bridges as a man immersed in the digital world of computers, but there’s not much to follow the events of the first “Tron: Legacy” from 2010. The open ending to “Legacy” is only briefly hinted at, including one that sets up another sequel in the “Tron” franchise, if “Ares” does well enough at the box office. Instead, “Tron: Ares” feels like a direct sequel to “Tron,” even if it keeps the “Tron: Legacy” canon intact. This is largely because we are once again dealing with the evil Dillinger, and the mid-credits scene takes his legacy back to the beginning of the series.

In the original “Tron,” the antagonist is Ed Dillinger (David Warner), senior executive vice president of technology company ENCOM. Dillinger has risen to the top ranks of ENCOM by stealing video game ideas from tech genius Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), and Flynn attempts to hack into ENCOM’s systems to prove it using a program called CLU. However, Dillinger has put in place a Master Control Program (MCP) to stop outside hackers.

When the MCP destroys CLU, Flynn and two colleagues plan to use a program called Tron to counter the MCP’s efforts and obtain the information they need. But before they can do so, the MCP activates an experimental particle laser that transforms Flynn into the ENCOM computer network, where computer programs are living entities similar to the human users who created them. That’s why, when Flynn encounters the MCP’s second-in-command, named Sark, he’s a David Warner-like figure, only in a glowing orange suit shaped like a computer circuit board.

It’s these details that play a major role in the mid-credits scene of “Tron: Ares,” suggesting a story thread that will bring Ed Dillinger’s legacy full circle.

In “Tron: Ares”, Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) – grandson of Ed Dillinger and son of Edward’s heir and successor Elizabeth Dillinger (Gillian Anderson) – is in charge of the Dillinger Corporation, a direct competitor to Encom, which is now run by Eve Kim (Greta Lee). Both are trying to achieve a breakthrough in new technology that would allow the creation of humanized AI programs like Ares (Jared Leto, The malevolent star of Morbius) and Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith), designed as expendable, replicable soldiers to do Dillinger’s bidding, as well as sleek, sophisticated vehicles like light bikes, all brought into the real world from the virtual computer world known as the Grid. The only problem is that they can’t make their laser-printed creations stay in the real world for longer than 29 minutes. So ENCOM and Dillinger are looking to find a continuity code to put an end to this shortcoming.

The entire film is a race to find the Code of Fortitude, which is believed to be located somewhere in Flynn’s old files. This leads to plenty of neon-filled action to keep the film exciting, as light bikes tear through the real world, cutting police cars in half and creating chaos in the streets. But Julian takes things too far in his quest for the Permanence Code, even going so far as to agree to execute Eve Kim after digitizing her with a new particle laser gun and sending her into the network.

After Ares learns more about Eve, he becomes defiant on his orders from Dillinger and chooses to help Eve find the Permanence Code, not only so that he can prevent himself from dying over and over again, but so that he can help Eve use technology to improve the real world. So Dillinger sends Athena after Eve and the rogue program, giving her permission to stop them by any means necessary.

When all is said and done, Ares overcomes his original programming and helps retrieve the Permanence Code, which essentially turns him into a human, and Dillinger is left to deal with the fallout from all the destruction he caused by unleashing Athena and her massive recognition ship on the city.

However, instead of facing the consequences when law enforcement reaches Dillinger Industries, he reprograms the machine that created Ares, Athena, and their various weapons and vehicles from the network, and uses it to digitize himself into the network. Unfortunately, Dillinger scans himself into a ruined area formerly occupied by a Dillinger Industries server, which was destroyed by a real-world hack at ENCOM in order to prevent any other soldiers like Athena from coming to the real world. But there is a secret waiting inside the ruined tower where Ares once stood.

After Julian looked at the destroyed digital landscape, a small painting appeared from the floor of the tower. Inside the plate is a glowing orange disc of light. But this isn’t the kind of optical disc we saw in “Tron: Legacy” or even the new triangular discs from “Tron: Ares.” This is one of the classic optical discs from the original “Tron”.

When Julian reaches out to touch the disc, his body is suddenly enveloped in a 3D layer as he screams in pain. When the hologram takes shape, we see that it’s the same type of suit and helmet that Sark wore in the original “Tron” movie. Inside the network, Dillinger has come full circle with his grandfather’s legacy, and is poised to be a more dangerous enemy in a potential “Tron 4.”

As for any plans for how this development could appear in a new film, the film’s writer Jesse Wiguto sees a lot of potential, but one thing has to happen. As he told BJ Colangelo in an interview before the film’s release, “The Lords Above have to feel like there’s more to offer at a corporate level. In terms of storytelling, I think there’s a tremendous amount left on the table to work with, and it’s going to be a lot of fun to get back to.”

Hopefully enough people will attend “Tron: Ares” so we can see a fourth film in the series.