TRON 3 (Update)

• TRON 3

Recently Joseph Kosinski appeared at WonderCon 2013 to promote Oblivion (which opens in theaters later this month, and I’m real excited for), but had some encouraging things to say about where the script development process is at – and what he expects TRON 3 to have, which Legacy did not:

Olivia Wilde as Quorra

“… I think I’m two weeks away from getting the draft. This is a story we’ve been working on since 2009, so that’s four years now. I’m really excited about the idea that we have for it. I think it delivers on the promise that both TRON movies have made. It opens the movie up, in a way that I think is going to give it a much broader appeal. Whereas [the previous film] really, ultimately, in the end, catered most to TRON fans, this idea broadens it some more, in really exciting ways.”

Kosinski’s right, when he indicates the movie was more successful in giving steadfast TRON fans what they want – in terms of light-cycles, disc battles and the Grid setting realized through modern effects – but that it falls short, as far as appealing to moviegoers who don’t care so much about the dazzling bells and whistles go:

“But, it’s all about the script and making sure that that story is compelling enough to get all of us back together.  Those movies are hard to make.  It’s a two-and-a-half to three-year journey.  So, to go back in there and go back to the Grid, it’s going to have to be a pretty spectacular script.  We’ve got a great writer on it, so we’ll see.”

That 2-3 year production timeline puts TRON 3 on course to arrive by either 2015 or 2016, in keeping with longtime reports about filming getting underway by 2014. A late 2015 release date seems feasible, possibly setting the threequel on course to arrive almost exactly five years after Legacy opened in December 2010.

Lastly, here’s what Kosniski said about the official title:

“It has a working title, yeah.  TR3N will be our code name.  We have an idea, but nothing is set in stone yet.  We have some exciting ideas.”

TR3N seems unlikely to serve as the official title, as most casual movie goers are unaware that Legacy is, in fact, a sequel to the 1982 movie (starring Jeff Bridges as the younger Kevin Flynn). Similarly, there’s a strong possibility that the new installment will revolve largely around Quorra (Olivia Wilde) and her experience, so the title should reflect that in the same way Legacy references Sam Flynn’s (Garret Hedlund) journey in that film.