If Tron: Ares does one thing right, it's merging nostalgia with new vibes and new directions. That said, once the movie is over, you might be wondering what happens next. Does Ares (Jared Leto) himself really need another movie? Will he find Sam and Quorra from Legacy? Will we ever actually see Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) or the character named Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) again? Will Eve (Greta Lee) create a new virtual world at Encom or stick with bringing digital creations to our world?
The ending of Ares doesn’t answer any of those questions. But the surprising post-credits scene does fully reveal that if there is a sequel, one character from the original 1982 movie will very much return, in a surprising new form.
Big spoilers ahead.
Evan Peters’ Dillinger Becomes Sark 2.0
Just after Jared Leto puts away on his Ducati motorcycle, the credits start to roll, and it seems the movie is over. But then, there’s a mid-credits scene, which takes place after most of the main credits have rolled. (There’s no true post-credits scene in Tron: Ares.)
In the scene, Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) finds himself back in some version of the Dillinger’s Grid. Even though Encom seemingly destroyed Dillinger’s Grid, Julian is transferred into some kind of retro, backup server. And there, he finds an Identity Disc with a very retro, red pattern.
When Julian picks up this disc, we hear the words “Sark” echo in the background, and suddenly, a red suit and neon hood envelop him. Clearly, he’s turning into his father’s program, the cruel and sadistic Sark, who, like Edward Dillinger, was played by science fiction legend David Warner.
Sark Could Set Up A Massive Tron 4 —With A Catch
The direct connection to the original Tron’s villain in the Ares post-credits scene strongly suggests that a hypothetical Tron 4 (Tr4n?) could follow up on this sequel. In fact, because Ares told such a small and specific story, a sequel could arguably bring in various elements that this movie only touched on. Tron (Bruce Boxleitner), the character, doesn’t appear in the movie at all, but if a new version of Sark is the central baddie of a fourth movie, then that could open the door for a new version of Tron himself.
Will it happen? Despite not being in Tron: Ares, Boxleitner recently encouraged fans at Pennsylvania’s RetroCon to go see the new film, despite the fact that he’s not in the film. “Please go see Tron: Ares. I’m not in it. But please go anyway,” Boxleitner said. “The opening weekend [box office] is everything. And if it doesn’t look good, we’re never going to see Tron again.”
Currently, Tron: Ares is tracking for a possible $90 million global opening weekend at the box office. If it happens, then maybe, just maybe, we’ll see the new Sark and possibly Tron in the near future.
