The Tron franchise is stuck in a gray area. Though the last film, Tron Legacy, ended up making $400 million worldwide on a $170 million budget (not including advertising costs), the studio saw its $44 million opening as underwhelming and it wasn't exactly slathered in critical praise. Last we heard Disney had hired a writer, David DiGilio, but they weren't ready to give the project the greenlight and, according to sources, they are waiting to see how successful the Disney XD show Tron: Uprising is before making any big decisions. The show won't be airing until next summer, but if you ask the titular star, Bruce Boxleitner, it's already a done deal.
A reader over at AICN recently had an encounter with Boxleitner at Disney's D23 Expo and when the subject of Tron 3 came up, Boxleitner couldn't have been more absolute or optimistic that the movie will get made. Check out the video below:
The big question here is how much Boxleitner knows about the future of the project. He may very well have a contract that commits him to another film, but that doesn't mean that the production is definitely a go (for example, Tim Allen is signed on four a fourth Toy Story movie that may or may not ever get made). It's also possible that Boxleitner heard that a script is being made and assumed that the greenlight was given as well. What really raises question marks about his comments is that he said the film should be ready by 2013. Tron Legacy spent over a year in post-production, so would that give them enough time for Tron 3 to equal the visual spectacle of the first sequel? It's entirely possible that the project is in fact a go and that we could be hearing announcements any day now, but take this news with a grain of salt in the meantime.
