Are you ready for Tron: Legacy 2? Or possibly just TRON 3? That’s what Disney is gambling on now that Disney Studios head has made the franchise a priority for the production company. And trust us, it’s a gamble.
When Disney released Tron: Legacy in 2010, they thought they were jumpstarting a new hit franchise. The original TRON, which pioneered the CG effects we now take for granted in the film industry, was a flop when it came out in 1982, but decades of fans had rediscovered the groundbreaking film on home video, and the time and technology seemed right to revisit the universe of the film, which took place in the sci-fi world inside of computer programs. But even though Tron: Legacy grossed over $400 million at the international box office, it barely broke even domestically, and cost enough money that the profit margins were small enough to potentially prevent the studio from continuing the series.
Disney seems to think that the TRON franchise isn’t broken, so they’re looking to create another sequel to the not-quite-hit series rather than do the commonplace Hollywood thing and simply reboot it. Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski is signed on for the third movie in the franchise. David Digilio, who had previously written the Paul Walker dogsledding movie Eight Below for Disney, was attached to write the screenplay, but now Hollywood Reporter reports that the studio is in negotiations to hire Jesse Wigutow to take over the scripting duties.
Who is Jesse Wigutow? You may know him as the writer of the dramatic comedy It Runs in the Family, which starred three generations of the Douglas family: Kirk, Michael and Cameron. Then again, you may not know him at all. It Runs in the Family was not a major success, and has little to do with the sci-fi/action/theological trappings of the TRON franchise, so we can only imagine that Wigutow had one hell of a pitch for the third movie.
Do you actually want to see another TRON movie, or has the concept run its course? We’d love to read your comments below.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani
