‘Tron 3’ Adds Evan Peters

Jared Leto is already aboard to star in the next chapter of the sci-fi movie franchise, which has Joachim Rønning directing.

Evan Peters in 'Mare of Easttown.' Photograph by Sarah Shatz/HBO.

While things have been relatively quiet since news that director Joachim Rønning was the man to make the third instalment of the ‘Tron’ movies, currently titled ‘Tron: Ares’, there has been an update. Evan Peters is now aboard to co-star with Jared Leto .

TRON: Ares

Not Yet RatedOct 10th, 2025

A highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind's first encounter with A.I.... Read the Plot

Meet Evan Peters

Evan Peters as Pietro in Marvel Studios' 'Wandavision' exclusively on Disney+.

Peters, who for a few years was best known as Quicksilver in the ‘X-Men’ movies that kicked off with ‘First Class’ (he joined for ‘Days of Future Past’), has more recently made his name starring for Ryan Murphy as Jeffrey Dahmer in 'Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,' and in several seasons of ‘American Horror Story’.

He’s also been seen in movies such as ‘ Kick-Ass’ and ‘Elvis & Nixon,’ and appeared alongside Kate Winslet in limited series ‘Mare of Easttown’.

What’s the story of ‘Tron: Ares’?

No details have been released about the potential plot for this one, but it’ll likely pick up some strands from 2010’s ‘Tron: Legacy’, which saw the return of Jeff Bridges from the 1982 original and starred Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde. Jesse Wigutow has been writing the script, though any forward movement on that is on hold because of the writers’ guild strike.

The development’ of ‘Tron 3’ so far

Olivia Wilde as Quorra in 'Tron: Legacy.'

‘Legacy’ director Joseph Kosinski talked up the idea of a sequel around that movie’s release, but development stalled out and he moved on to other things, including a slightly successful other legacy sequel called ‘Top Gun: Maverick.'

Leto’s name was first mentioned back in 2017, when he tweeted his excitement to be part of a follow-up movie.

Here’s his announcement:

“I am so very excited and proud to confirm that YES––I will be starring in ‘Tron’. We will work as hard as we possibly can to create something that I hope you all will love. We have some very special ideas in store for you all… See you in the grid! I’m struck with such gratitude for the opportunity to bring this movie to life, especially as both the original video game and the film affected me so deeply as a young child. The fact that I get to be a part of this new chapter is mind-blowing.”

Garth Davis, the director behind ‘Lion’ and 2018’s ‘Mary Magdalene’ was mentioned as a potential filmmaker, though despite aggressively pursuing the job, he’s since dropped off the project.

Rønning, the Norwegian filmmaker who made his name co-directing voyaging movie ‘Kon-Tiki’, has become a reliable go-to director for Disney.

He’s handled ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell no Tales’ and ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ for the studio and is in post-production on ‘Young Woman and the Sea’, which stars Daisy Ridley in the story of Gertrude Ederle, a New York teen who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

As of right now, ‘Tron: Ares’ does not have a release date. And given the potential for actors to strike once the SAG-AFTRA contract runs out at the end of this month, we don’t expect that to change for a while yet. Shooting is scheduled for August, but we’ll see if it pans out.