There has been a flurry of details breaking from the set of the 2025 movie Tron: Ares, which, to fans like me, is an invitation to start speculating. In an adventure that crosses borders between hard drives and meatspace, knowing your code is exceedingly important.
With that in mind, I feel compelled to bring to everyone’s attention a new tidbit of info that I’ve learned about the upcoming threequel – the significance being that I think this already important sounding development could become an even greater concern in the overall Tron movie timeline.
It Appears Tron: Ares’ Big Macguffin Has Been Revealed
The latest issue of Empire Magazine sees the publication on the set of the upcoming legacyquel, and there are plenty of clues towards how life on The Grid has changed. As we saw in the first Tron: Ares trailer, life is also starting to reach out into the flesh and blood world beyond the screen. So keep that in mind when reading this story beat from the feature:
The yin to the Dillinger’s yang is Kevin Flynn’s tech company Encom, now led by Greta Lee’s Eve Kim. The Dillingers and Eve are both searching for Flynn’s ‘permanence code’, which would enable the existence of digital assets in the real world.
Looks like some of the whispers that have been bandied about on Reddit are true, as a past Instagram post from Ares director Joachim Rønning saw the word "permanence" standing out on a script page. So the “Permanence Code” sounds like it would keep Light Cycles, Recognizers, and anything one would want to bring into the real world in play.
That fits Joachim Rønning's Pinocchio allegory when discussing Tron: Ares' sinister looking protagonist. It also sounds pretty damned cool... right until you go to revisit the questions from Tron: Legacy’s ending. Those of you planning to do a franchise refresh through your Disney+ subscription may now have another query about the upcoming sequel.
Quorra Is Either Dead, Or In Hiding, For Her Survival
Going back to the subject of speculation, the fandom has wondered how (or if) Tron: Ares will address what Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (Olivia Wilde) have been up to in the past 15 years. Reading how this “permanence code” is needed to keep digital denizens alive in reality, I’m now worried that Sam’s ISO friend/love interest may not be doing so well.
That possibility could play out one of two ways, with the obvious first scenario being outright death. I'm not totally sure about that, as there really hasn't been a confirmation or denial from anyone connected to the production that Sam and Quorra are out of the picture totally.
In the best case scenario, Quorra’s status as an ISO may have helped her survive after her trip to the real world at the end of Tron: Legacy. That’s still pretty dangerous, as if she’s alive in the world somewhere, you could bet Dillinger Systems is going to want to study and extrapolate this code from her being. So we’re back to poor Quorra potentially being subjected to a fate worse than de-resolution.
It won’t be long until we learn more about the world of Tron: Ares, as San Diego Comic Con will be hosting a huge Hall H panel for the film on July 26. I don't think we'll get any concrete discussion on Quorra's fate, but it'd be nice to get an update on the current states of Encom and Dillinger Systems. Until then, keep your eyes and ears for anything else that might slip the nets, Programs. End of Line.
