For any of you who follow me on Twitter, you are well aware that I am an unabashed fanboy of TRON: Legacy. It is truly a visually stunning film by director Joseph Kosinski and which with the help of Daft Punk and Olivia Wilde in latex it went on to gross nearly $400 million worldwide.
Talk of a sequel had all but died down until this past March when it was announced that the Kosinski would be ramping up production on TRON 3 this coming fall in Vancouver. Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund confirmed their involvement in the sequel as well which had fans excited to return to the grid. And then suddenly Walt Disney derrezed TRON 3 last week, with the timing of the announcement coinciding with the dismal box office performance of Tomorrowland.
Tomorrowland was budgeted similar to TRON: Legacy around $180 million, but the comparisons pretty much stop right there. I find it hard to believe that Tomorrowland itself killed TRON 3. Currently Disney has its hands full with live action remakes of classic cartoons, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and relaunching the Star Wars franchise.
While Disney may have untold billions at their disposal, right now they are trying to recoup their investment in what are arguably their two biggest acquisitions in their company’s history. And unfortunately for us, TRON 3 was on the bubble … but I have faith that we will see a return in the near figure.