Joseph Kosinski Distances Himself from Tron: Ares After Box Office Failure

Joseph Kosinski, the filmmaker behind Top Gun: Maverick and the director who first brought Tron: Legacy to the big screen, has made it plain that Disney’s latest science fiction outing, Tron: Ares, is not the continuation he once had in mind. Despite Ares being the third entry in the Tron series, Kosinski explained in a recent interview that it fails to pick up the narrative threads he began weaving back in 2010.

He noted that while the new instalment borrows certain visual elements from his previously shelved project, Tron: Ascension, the storyline has been altered so extensively that it now stands apart as a separate tale. For Kosinski, Ares is best viewed as a parallel narrative rather than a direct successor to Legacy.

Director’s Perspective on the New Direction

During the discussion, Kosinski remarked:

I don’t really see it as a sequel. This definitely used elements of a movie I worked on, called ‘Tron: Ascension’, in terms of maybe some of the set pieces and visuals, but it really inverted the story and told it from a completely different point of view. So, I see it more like a parallel story as opposed to a sequel. But I’m thrilled that what Steve Lisberger created in 1982 still resonates today.

Although Kosinski is credited as an executive producer on Joachim Rønning’s Tron: Ares, he had no involvement in the script or creative process. The film, starring Jared Leto, struggled at the box office, taking in £112 million against a hefty £142 million budget, making it one of the year’s most notable commercial disappointments.

Kosinski’s Abandoned Vision for Tron

Kosinski’s reluctance to label Ares as a true follow-up stems from his own plans for a sequel, which were ultimately shelved after Disney shifted its focus to other major franchises. When Tron: Legacy premiered in 2010, it earned £315 million on a £158 million budget—considered underwhelming at the time, though now it seems rather respectable compared to Ares’ performance.

Back then, Kosinski was still establishing himself as a director of blockbusters. His ideas for Tron: Ascension were put on hold, but in 2017 he shared his vision for the project, describing a story that would have seen programmes from the digital world crossing over into reality.

What I’m excited about is the concept, which is an invasion movie from inside the machine coming out, as opposed to one we’ve usually seen. We hinted at that at the end of ‘Legacy’ […], but the idea for ‘Ascension’ was a movie that was, the first act was in the real world, the second act was in the world of Tron, or multiple worlds of Tron, and the third act was totally in the real world.

Kosinski’s approach would have blurred the boundaries between humans and machines, moving the action between various digital realms before concluding entirely in the physical world—a clear and bold extension of the previous film’s themes.

Missed Opportunities and Franchise Direction

Given Kosinski’s scrapped plans for Ascension, some have wondered whether Tron: Ares might have fared better had he been at the helm. His understanding of the Tron universe, demonstrated in Legacy, arguably surpassed that of anyone else involved in the franchise’s recent efforts.

Kosinski managed to update the series for modern audiences while still honouring the spirit of the 1982 original. In contrast, Ares struggled to strike the same balance, opting instead for a fresh perspective that left some long-time fans cold.

Most crucially, Kosinski had a long-term strategy for the series. His proposed sequel would have built naturally on the foundations laid in Legacy, allowing the franchise to evolve rather than reinventing itself. The recent box office results suggest that Disney’s decision to go in a different direction may not have paid off.

Tron: Ares by the Numbers

Tron: Ares, directed by Joachim Rønning and featuring a cast including Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and Gillian Anderson, received a 53% score on Rotten Tomatoes and runs for just under two hours. Despite the high-profile talent, the film’s financial performance has been underwhelming.

Kosinski’s recent successes, from revitalising Top Gun to delivering a hit with F1, only highlight what might have been had his vision for Tron 3 been realised. Tron: Ares is currently available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.