Tron 2 Revealed
August 8, 2008 10:21
One of the highlights of Comic-Con 2008 in San Diego last month was the shocking revelation of "Tron 2," the long-awaited and long-rumored sequel to Disney's science fiction cult classic.
For those that don't already know, Disney held a panel at Comic-Con to discuss its new film "Race to Witch Mountain." But as the panel came to a close, the lights dimmed and without any announcement or introduction, a video began to roll. And just like the original "Tron," it opens with a sweeping view of the digital world that quickly zooms in on a "program" in a blue suit hiding in a dark corridor. He hears something coming and sees the flash of a light cycle behind him and begins running down the corridor. He jumps and, in slow motion, throws a stick out in front of himself and grabs it - and suddenly a glowing, blue light cycle forms around him.
But behind the blue program, a yellow light cycle is in hot pursuit. A high speed chase ensues, and instead of being limited to a flat grid with rigid turns and right angles like in the first "Tron," the light cycles are now racing fluidly across the newly-rendered digital world, jumping and swirling down illuminated ramps. One of the light cycles dips under the translucent "street" while the other light cycle follows it from above. They engage in some aggressive driving, bumping one another until the blue light cycle beats the yellow light cycle to the memorable crack in the wall from "Tron." The yellow light cycle powers down while the blue program speeds through the fissure with ease.
But just as the blue light cycle emerges from the dark crack and looks to be home free, the yellow light cycle comes screaming in from out of nowhere and runs its yellow light trail right in front of the blue light cycle. Unable to stop in time, the cycle crashes in brilliant slow motion and sends the blue program flying across the screen; he nearly falls off a cliff but is able to grab the edge and pull himself back up.
Now this is where it gets really exciting; the camera cuts away from the blue program and we see a human face: Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn. He's older and grayer and looks a little more like the Dude from "The Big Lebowski" than Flynn, the young, cocky video game developer from "Tron." Flynn is now sitting in a large, white room; he stands up and approaches what looks like a holographic rendering of the digital world emitting from the floor. Flynn looks down and sees the two light cycle racers in the digital world.
Jeff Bridges looks to be reprising his role from "Tron" in the sequel.
The camera then shifts back to the yellow program, who is wearing a helmet that shields his face. He stops the light cycle, gets off and then walks toward the blue program while grabbing his disc, which is illuminated with yellow light. The blue program, cowering on the ground, sees the yellow program and says, "You won, okay! It's just a game." We then see the yellow program's helmet light up - and it's Jeff Bridges again as Clu, Flynn's digital counterpart. But it's not old Jeff Bridges; it's circa 1982 Jeff Bridges! Clu says "Not anymore," and then hurls his disc at his prey. The screen suddenly goes black and then a "2" is illuminated in the classic "Tron" font, which then reveals a sleek "TR2N" logo.
Obviously, the two-and-a-half minute clip, captured by a hand-cam here and shot exclusively for Comic-Con 2008, sent the audience and "Tron" fans around the world into a fanboy nirvana. But the video also opened up a lot of questions. Is Bridges really back? Is Flynn a villain in the sequel (gulp!)? Who's directing "Tron 2"? What will the sequel's story be? And is "Tron" writer-director Steve Lisberger coming back for the sequel?
We don't know a lot about the project, but here are a few details. First, the movie is scheduled for 2010. Other than Bridges, there's no word on whether or not additional cast members from "Tron" will return - though one might expect that Tron himself (Bruce Boxleitner) will make an appearance. Joseph Kosinski, who directed the Comic-Con teaser, is helming the sequel as well. Although Kosinski has never directed a feature film before, he's made a mark with memorable commercials using digital animation, including the Gears of War "Mad World" commercial, the Halo 3 "Starry Night" spot, and the new Gears of War 2 "Rendezvous" trailer. No doubt Kosinski's experience with CGI helped him land the gig.
Another important person involved in the project is John Lasseter, CEO of Pixar, who is producing "Tron 2." Lasseter is reportedly a huge fan of the original film and has been pushing Disney to make a sequel for some time. In addition, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz of the hit TV show "Lost" are currently working on the screenplay. There is no word yet on what kind of story the sequel will have. But the good news is, Lisberger is involved with "Tron 2" - he's listed as the film's writer on IMDB and will reportedly server as a producer as well. He confirmed his involvement with the project in an e-mail to Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News last week. Tom's Games followed up with Lisberger to get his thoughts about the sequel. Here's a brief Q&A with Lisberger:
TOM'S GAMES: We weren't sure if you were involved on the film until the AICN story.
STEVE LISBERGER: I talked to Harry [Knowles] just because I wanted to correct the record. It wasn't a situation where it was like, Okay it's time to really start talking about everything. It's just confirming that I was involved, things were progressing and we're all working on it.
TG: So you are working on the film, then? You had told us a while back that you and Disney had been playing around with the idea for years.
LISBERGER: Yes. It's been a long road of development, and I have been involved. It's been going on since 2000. It's gone through various stages, but there is sort of a through line all the things we've tried and attempted and contributed one way or another. Now we have a really great group of people involved, and the studio's very enthusiastic. Our executive at Disney even has the old Tron arcade game in his office. You can't do better than that.
TG: So what has the process been like?
LISBERGER: Things have ebbed and flowed on the project over the years, and that's what happened. This has been ongoing now for sometime, and it's been sort of under the radar. I think it's best that it was under the radar. It's better for the people involved to focus on the work than reading about the publicity.
TG: The Comic-Con teaser took everyone by surprise.
LISBERGER: Yeah, there you go. The miracle of modern technology did not root it out.
TG: So where does "Tron 2" stand now? What are you personally up to?
LISBERGER: How do I put this? it's been a long time since the first film was made, so we're all re-examining the first film together. That's an ongoing process. It's great to be working with Jeff [Bridges] again. He's gotten nothing but better over the years, so that's been a lot of fun.
TG: What will it be like revisiting a movie that came out more than 25 years ago?
LISBERGER: I'm sure there's going to be quite a few people working on the film that were born after it was made, which is a startling thing! It has a unique place in my life, and it's interesting to revisit that.
Related Articles:
| HOME |
