I Watched The OG Tron For The First Time, And I Now Think I Know What’s Going On With The Grid And Jeff Bridges’ Role In Ares

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I first discovered the world of *Tron* through a level in the *Kingdom Hearts II* video game, which borrowed ideas from the original 1982 film. I later saw *Tron: Legacy* in theaters four years after that, and I’ve been excited about the upcoming *Tron: Ares* ever since. However, I only recently got around to watching the very first *Tron* movie. It was a fun watch and fascinating to see the special effects that were considered cutting-edge over 40 years ago.

Now that I understand the franchise better, I have a theory about what’s happening with the Grid in the new *Ares* version and what role Jeff Bridges will play. We’ll find out if I’m right in just a few days, but these are my final thoughts on the matter.

Tron: Ares’ Grid Is Based Off The MCP-Controlled One

In the original *Tron*, like in early *Star Wars* films, blue characters were the heroes and red characters were the villains – a pretty simple concept. However, things get more interesting in *Tron: Ares*. The main character, played by Jared Leto, is colored red, even though he isn’t a bad guy. This adds a layer of moral ambiguity that wasn’t in the first *Tron* movie, but that’s a discussion for another time.

More Tron Coverage

Jared Leto’s passion for the *Tron* universe runs deep, and a new look at *Tron: Ares* reveals how being a longtime fan has shaped his work on the film.

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Watching *Tron* recently made me realize something odd about *Tron: Legacy*: we never see any red programs. In *Legacy*, all of CLU 2.0’s forces, and CLU himself, are orange. This suggests that the Grid shown in *Tron: Ares* isn’t the same one Sam Flynn entered in *Legacy*. While it’s possible the backup of the Grid Sam created was stolen and changed, I think there’s a different explanation. I believe the Grid in *Tron: Ares* is actually based on the original Grid from the first *Tron* movie, the one controlled by the Master Control Program back in the 1980s.

It’s not shocking that Ares and the other digital soldiers come from Dillinger Systems, a company led by Julian and Elisabeth Dillinger (played by Evan Peters and Gillian Anderson), who are the grandson and daughter of Edward Dillinger. Since the MCP in *Tron* was defeated, the Dillingers might have salvaged parts of its code and used it to create their own Grid. This could explain why there are more red Programs than blue ones.

Jeff Bridges Isn’t Playing The Actual Kevin Flynn

While Jeff Bridges returns for *Tron: Ares*, many assumed his character, Kevin Flynn, died in *Tron: Legacy*. Disney hasn’t confirmed his fate, but I now believe the character we see isn’t the original Flynn. His stiff way of speaking in the trailers, and the fact that he’s depicted as purple in this new digital world, seem off to me.

After watching *Tron*, I had a thought: what do you get when you mix red and blue? Purple. I think Jeff Bridges’ character is a neutral program created from the combined “good” and “bad” code of the Grid when Edward Dillinger was in charge. He might even *be* the Permanence Code itself – the thing that lets digital objects exist permanently in the real world. Either way, the purple color suggests his character isn’t loyal to Dillinger’s company or ENCOM (now led by Eve Kim), but is an unbiased player in the overall conflict.

Once you’ve read my review of *Tron: Ares* on TopMob, go see it in theaters this Friday and decide if my predictions hold up! If you’re in the mood for more *Tron*, you can also revisit the original *Tron* or *Tron: Legacy* on Disney+, or check out the animated series *Tron: Uprising*.

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2025-10-08 13:08