Tron Legacy

July 29, 2009 – 1:46 am

Tron Legacy is a forthcoming 2010 science fiction film. It is a sequel to the 1982 film Tron. Joseph Kosinski is directing the film, while the previous film director, Steven Lisberger, returns as a producer. Jeff Bridges will reprise his role as Kevin Flynn, while Garrett Hedlund will portray Flynn’s now-adult son, Sam. The other cast members include Bruce Boxleitner, Olivia Wilde, Beau Garrett and John Hurt. According to the teaser trailer shown at the 2008 and 2009 Comic Con, the film will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D.

The primary shooting location of the film was in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Test footage of the film was shown at the 2008 and 2009 San Diego Comic Con.

Premise

Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

Production

Development

In the late 1990s, there was speculation that Disney would make a sequel film, due to the original film’s cult following. On July 29, 1999, ZDnet News reported that a Tron sequel or remake was being considered by Pixar. Through out the next several years, many false rumors that a Tron sequel was in production or being developed were reported by various news websites.

On January 13, 2005 Variety reported that Disney had hired Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal to write a sequel to Tron.

At the 2008 San Diego Comic Con, a preliminary teaser trailer (labeled as TR2N and directed by Joseph Kosinski) was shown as a surprise to convention guests. It depicted a light cycle battle between a yellow and blue program, and featured Jeff Bridges reprising his role from the earlier film. While the trailer did not confirm that a Tron sequel was in production, it showed that Disney was serious about a sequel.

On September 24, 2008, Disney showcased its upcoming films in a daylong presentation for Disney partners and the media at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, CA. One of the many films showcased was TR2N, in which the same trailer from Comic-Con was shown to the crowd. According to Ain’t It Cool News: “They showed the TRON 2 trailer (and everyone went nuts), the same that was shown at Comic Con and [Walt Disney Studios chairman] Dick [Cook] said, ‘it was for sure a go’.”

Redesigned Light Cycle

Light Cycles will be making a return, with new designs by Daniel Simon. According to the press conference at ComicCon 2009, a new vehicle called a “Light Runner” is to be a two-seat version of the light cycle. We will also get a glimpse at Kevin Flynn’s own cycle.

Filming

Filming in Vancouver

Filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia in April 2009. Stage shooting for the film is taking place at the Canadian Motion Picture Park studio in south Burnaby. The entire film will be filmed in 3D, which was also what the teaser was shot in.

Actor in clothing in Vancouver street

On April 2009, pictures were leaked onto the Internet showing actors in blue skintight suits. The design of the suits is reminiscent of the outfits worn by the actors in the original film.

Music

Electronic music duo Daft Punk will be composing the film score. At the time of the 2009 Comic-Con, it was revealed they have composed 24 tracks for the film. The song “Separate Ways” by Journey will also be featured in the film.

Marketing

On July 21, 2009, several movie-related websites posted they had received via mail a pair of “Flynn’s Arcade” golden coins along with a flash drive. Its content was an animated gif image that showed CSS code lines. Four of them were put together and part of the code was cracked, revealing the url to Flynnlives.com, a fiction site mantained by activists who believe Kevin Flynn is alive, even though he’s been missing since 1989. Clicking on a tiny spider in the lower section of the main page leads to a countdown clock that hits zero on July 23, 2009, 9:30pm PDT. Within the Terms of Use Section, an address was found. It lies in San Diego, CA, near the city’s convention center where the Comic Con 2009 is taking place and some footage/info on the sequel is expected to be released. Flynn’s Arcade was re-opened at that location, with several Space Paranoids arcade machines and a variety of ’80s video games. A full-size light cycle from the new movie was on display.

A second viral site, homeoftron.com, has been found. It portrays some of the history of Flynn’s Arcade as well as a fan memoir section.

Tags: cast, director, Fiction, film, legacy, members, producer, role, Science, tron