Ares trailer riffs on big tech and features a returning Jeff Bridges

There’s finally a full trailer for Tron: Ares, the third installment in the decades-long sci-fi franchise. This comes after a teaser dropped a few months back and over two years after the film was first announced.

The new footage is pretty cool, and gets into the meat of this threequel. It’s a riff on AI and big tech, as corporate entities look to weaponize the digital creations of The Grid and bring them to the real world. This does not go well, as evidenced by shots of iconic franchise Recognizer ships careening down city streets.

It also features Jeff Bridges, returning as computer programmer Kevin Flynn. Bridges is the only actor who will have appeared in all three Tron films. The star of this new one, however, is the scandal-plagued Jared Leto, who plays a soldier from The Grid who has traveled to the real world on some kind of mission. Hasan Minhaj, Gillian Anderson, Greta Lee and Evan Peters are also in the movie.

Tron: Ares is directed by Joachim Rønning, who is something of a Disney hired gun. He made Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, among other films for the company.

I really have no idea what to make of this movie, even if the footage looks pretty nifty. I love the original and like the sequel well enough. One thing I’m happy about is the continued dedication to atmosphere-soaked soundtracks. The first film featured an iconic score by Wendy Carlos and the folks behind Tron: Legacy hired Daft Punk to make the music. The new movie includes a soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails. The band released the first single today, likely to coincide with the trailer, and it definitely nails the vibe.