Earlier this year, reports circulated that Tron 3 was happening at Disney, with director Joseph Kosinski returning in addition to Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde reprising their roles from Tron: Legacy. But apparently Disney has changing its mind about Tron’s future.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney is not going forward with Tron 3. It turns out that it’s very easy to cancel a film that was never officially given a greenlight in the first place. But this is still a surprise because Disney had made it clear that a sequel was in the cards after Tron: Legacy resurrected the franchise in 2010.
What changed? Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, which brought the lucrative Star Wars franchise into the fold alongside Marvel Studios and Pixar. Once that happened, Disney didn’t have the need to build up another sci-fi franchise. Disney’s tentpole release schedule is already crowded for the next few years.
THR also cited the disappointing box office for Tomorrowland as another reason for Disney’s decision to cut out on Tron 3. Deadline suggested that one of the primary reasons is that Tron: Legacy cost approximately $300 million (including the film’s production and marketing budgets) but only brought in $400 million worldwide.
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That may be true, but $100 million in profit is still $100 million, depending upon how much of that came directly back to Disney. Essentially, Disney appears to be disappointed that this blockbuster wasn’t an even bigger blockbuster. $100 million in profit just isn’t enough to make Disney happy.
Tron: Legacy has its faults and its detractors, but the Tron franchise had amazing potential that was fully realized in the short-lived Tron: Uprising animated series. The original Tron movie from 1982 is still a highly influential cult film with a dedicated following.
However, Disney appears to have no interest in nurturing a franchise unless it makes an obscene amount of money for the studio. And that is not cool, Disney!
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