Tron: Ares will be released next year, following in the footsteps of 1982’s Tron and 2010’s Tron: Legacy. And on Friday, the first footage was shown at D23. And it’s a blast.

In the film, Jared Leto plays the title character, a program that escapes the computerized video game world of the Grid and enters our own world. The footage begins with Evan Peters’ Julian Dillinger remarking onstage, “You know the name Dillinger doesn’t mean much to the people in the Grid. Dillinger gives a speech about how we’re looking for life in the stars, but we should really have been looking inside – in the Grid.”

We see Leto creep into our world. First we see him looking around, but there are more menacing shots – a scene (maybe a chase?) in the snow, a destroyed downtown area, and Greta Lee, a scientist researching AI, asking Leto who he is. And then the cool stuff starts. We see a Recognizer slowly driving down a city street (we see him from the inside of an office building) and human cops following Ares on a light wheel. He presses a button and a band of light extends out of the back of the light wheel. It cuts the police car in half.

And finally, the footage ends with Ares walking toward a mysterious figure. The figure walks toward him barefoot, a white cloak following him. “Hello user,” the figure says to Ares. It’s Jeff Bridges, again as Kevin Flynn.

“Tron: Ares,” which reverses the franchise’s usual journey from the computer world to ours, looks exciting and action-packed. And the evening’s revelation that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Nine Inch Nails will provide the music makes everything even more exciting.

The film, directed by Joachim Rønning, will be released in cinemas on October 10, 2025.