Tron: Legacy is a 2010 American science fiction action film directed by Joseph Kosinski, and written by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. It is the second installment in the Tron series and a sequel to Tron (1982). The film stars Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, and Michael Sheen. The story follows Kevin Flynn's adult son Sam, who responds to a message from his long-lost father and is transported into a virtual reality called "the Grid", where Sam, his father, and the program Quorra must stop the malevolent digital mirror image of Kevin Flynn, Clu, from invading the real world.
Interest in creating a sequel to Tron arose after the film garnered a cult following. After much speculation, Walt Disney Pictures began a concerted effort in 2005 to devise a sequel, with the hiring of Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal as writers. Kosinski was recruited as director two years later. As he was not optimistic about Disney's The Matrix-esque approach to the film, Kosinski filmed a concept trailer, which he used to conceptualize the universe of Tron: Legacy and convince the studio to greenlight the film. Principal photography took place in Vancouver over 67 days, in and around the city's central business district. Most sequences were shot in 3D and ten companies were involved with the extensive visual effects work. Chroma keying and other techniques were used to allow more freedom in creating effects. French electronic music duo Daft Punk composed the film's musical score, releasing a soundtrack album that incorporates their trademark electronic sound with orchestral arrangements.
Tron: Legacy premiered in Tokyo on November 30, 2010, and was released in the United States on December 17, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Disney vigorously promoted the film across multiple media platforms, including merchandising, consumer products, theme parks, and advertising. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and was a commercial success, grossing $409.9 million against a $170 million budget. The film was nominated for Best Sound Editing at the 83rd Academy Awards. Like its predecessor, Tron: Legacy has been described as a cult film since its release. A sequel, Tron: Ares, was released in 2025.
Plot
In 1989, Kevin Flynn, the CEO of ENCOM, disappears. Twenty years later, his son Sam, now ENCOM's primary shareholder, pranks the corporation by releasing the company's signature operating system online for free. ENCOM executive Alan Bradley, Kevin's old friend, approves of this, believing it aligns with Flynn's ideals of free software; nonetheless, Sam is arrested for trespassing.
Alan posts bail for Sam and tells him of a pager message originating from Flynn's shuttered video arcade, which has been disconnected since his disappearance. There, Sam discovers a hidden basement with a large computer and particle laser, which suddenly digitizes and uploads him onto the Grid, a virtual reality created by Kevin. He is captured and sent to "the Games", where he must fight a masked computer program named Rinzler. When Sam is injured and bleeds, Rinzler realizes Sam is human, or a "User". He takes Sam to Clu, the Grid's corrupt ruling program, who resembles a young Kevin.
Clu nearly kills Sam in a Light Cycle match, but Sam is rescued by Quorra, a skilled warrior and "apprentice" of Flynn, who takes him to Kevin's hideout outside Clu's territory. Kevin explains that he had been working to create a "perfect" computer system and had appointed Clu and security program Tron as its co-creators. The trio discovered a species of naturally occurring "isomorphic algorithms" (ISOs), with the potential to resolve various natural mysteries. Clu, considering them an abnormality, betrayed Kevin, killed Tron, and destroyed the ISOs. The "Portal" permitting travel between the two worlds closed, leaving Kevin trapped in the system. Clu sent the message to Alan hoping to lure him into the Grid (though Sam serves his purpose just as well) and reopen the Portal for a limited time. Since Flynn's "identity disc" is the master key to the Grid and the only way to traverse the Portal, Clu expects Sam to bring Kevin to the Portal so he can take Flynn's disc, go through the Portal himself, and impose his idea of perfection on the human world.
Against his father's wishes, Sam returns to Clu's territory and encounters one of the Sirens, named Gem, to help find Zuse, a program who can provide safe passage to the Portal. At the End of Line Club, the owner, Castor, reveals himself to be Zuse, then betrays Sam to Clu's guards. In the resulting fight, Kevin rescues his son, but Quorra's arm is damaged and Castor gains possession of Flynn's disc. Castor attempts to bargain with Clu over the disc, but Clu instead destroys the club along with Castor and Gem. Kevin and Sam stow away aboard a "Solar Sailer" transport program, where Flynn repairs Quorra and reveals her to be the last surviving ISO.
The transport is intercepted by Clu's warship. As a diversion, Quorra allows herself to be captured by Rinzler, whom Kevin recognizes as Tron, not killed by Clu but rather reprogrammed. Sam reclaims Flynn's disc and rescues Quorra, while Kevin takes control of a Light Fighter. Clu, Rinzler, and several guards pursue the trio in Light Jets. Rinzler remembers his past as Tron and deliberately collides with Clu's Light Jet to save Flynn. Clu, enraged by Rinzler betraying him, fights Rinzler in midair, taking his spare baton to spawn another Light Jet. Rinzler plunges in to the Sea of Simulation. Clu confronts the others at the Portal, but Kevin reintegrates with his digital duplicate, destroying Clu along with himself. Quorra – having switched discs with Kevin – gives Flynn's disc to Sam, and they escape together to the real world as the ensuing explosion from Kevin's sacrifice destroys Clu's warship and levels the area around the Portal.
In Flynn's Arcade, Sam backs up and deactivates the system. He then tells a waiting Alan that he plans to retake control of ENCOM, naming Alan chairman of the board. Sam departs on his motorcycle with Quorra as the sun rises.
Cast
Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, the former CEO of ENCOM International and creator of the popular arcade game Tron based on his own experiences in ENCOM's virtual reality, who disappeared in 1989 while developing "a digital frontier that will reshape the human condition." Bridges also portrays CLU (Codified Likeness Utility) via digital de-aging and voiceover, while John Reardon portrays CLU physically. CLU is a more advanced incarnation of Flynn's original computer-hacking program, designed as an "exact duplicate of himself" within the Grid. Garrett Hedlund as Samuel "Sam" Flynn, Kevin‘s son, who, while investigating his father's disappearance, is transported onto the Grid himself. Hedlund won a "Darwinian casting process" which tested hundreds of actors, being chosen for having the "unique combination of intelligence, wit, humor, look and physicality" that the producers were looking for in Flynn's son. The actor trained hard to do his own stunts, which included jumping over cars and copious wire and harness work. Owen Best as Young Sam Flynn. Olivia Wilde as Quorra, an "isomorphic algorithm". Flynn refers to her as his "apprentice" and has imparted volumes of information to her regarding the world outside of the Grid, which she longs to experience. She is shown to have a love of human literature, particularly the writings of Jules Verne, and plays Go with Flynn. Wilde describes Quorra as akin to Joan of Arc. Her hairstyle was influenced by singer Karen O. Wilde added that although "[Quorra] could have just been another slinky, vampy temptress," it was important for her to appeal to both men and women, and that character tried to avoid the typical female lead by having a naiveté and childlike innocence adequate for such an "evolving and learning organism." Quorra's action scenes led Wilde to work out and train in martial arts. Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley, a board member executive for ENCOM, and close friend of Kevin Flynn. Boxleitner also portrays Tron / Rinzler, a security program originally developed by Bradley to monitor ENCOM's Master Control Program and later reassigned by Flynn to defend the Grid. He was overpowered and re-purposed by Clu as Rinzler. Anis Cheurfa, a stunt actor, portrayed Rinzler, while Boxleitner provided the dialogue and was also digitally de-aged as Tron in flashback sequences. Rinzler is named after author and Lucasfilm Executive Editor J. W. Rinzler. James Frain as Jarvis, an administration program who serves as CLU's right-hand man. Frain had to shave his head, bleach his eyebrows white, and wear make-up. The refraction on Jarvis's helmet led Frain to walk in a "slightly squinty, blind stagger" which the actor felt was helpful to get him into character. Frain described Jarvis as "a fun, comic character that's a little off-beat," considering him "more human, in terms of being fallible and absurd" compared to the zanier Castor. Beau Garrett appears as Gem, one of four programs known as Sirens. The Sirens operate the Grid's game armory, while also reporting to Castor. Michael Sheen as Zuse / Castor, a flamboyant probability program with dubious loyalties. Sheen describes his performance as containing elements of performers such as David Bowie, Joel Grey from Cabaret, and a bit of Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Show.
Serinda Swan, Yaya DaCosta, and Elizabeth Mathis depict the other three Sirens. Jeffrey Nordling stars as Richard Mackey, the chairman of ENCOM's executive board, and Cillian Murphy makes an uncredited appearance as Edward Dillinger Jr., the head of ENCOM's software design team and the son of former ENCOM Senior Executive Ed Dillinger portrayed by David Warner in the original film. Daft Punk, who composed the score for the film, cameo as disc jockey programs, and Tron creator Steven Lisberger makes an appearance as Shaddix, a bartender.
Production Background Steven Lisberger relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1970s to pursue a career in computer animation. Since the computer animation field was mainly concentrated in Los Angeles, Lisberger had very little competition operating on the East Coast: "Nobody back then did Hollywood stuff, so there was no competition and no one telling us that we couldn't do it." He later produced and directed the science fiction film Tron (1982) for Walt Disney Productions, the first computer animation-based feature film. Although the film garnered some critical praise, it generated only modest sales at the box office — the cumulative North American gross was just $33 million. Producer Sean Bailey, who saw the film with his father and Lisberger, was captivated by the finished product. Although Tron performed below Disney's expectations, it later developed a cult following, which fueled speculation of Pixar's alleged interest in creating a sequel, in 1999. Rumors of a Tron sequel were further ignited after the 2003 release of the first-person shooter video game, Tron 2.0. Lisberger hinted that a third installment could be in the works, depending on the commercial success of the game.
Writing