Earlier this year, fans were fired up with the whispers and rumors that the third Tron film that we’d all been waiting for was finally going to happen. While Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund were talked up over a period of a couple of weeks, as well as the fact that production was pegged for an October start date, it looked like D23 or ComicCon would be the good time to make an official announcement. But sadly, the world of Kevin Flynn was put on ice once more, and no one sounds more upset about it than Tron himself – Bruce Boxleitner.
While talking to a member of the SlashFilm team at an event to promote his current show, Cedar Cove, Boxleitner was asked for a reaction to the cancellation of the film that became known as Tron Ascension. His reaction started with the following:
I’m done with it. I’ve moved on. I hate to say that but it’s been too up and down for me. I would rather not just keep going. I don’t want to repeat my career anymore. That’d be like, ‘Let’s reboot Scarecrow and Mrs. King.’ No, I’m not interested. Or Babylon 5.
Boxleitner then went on to discuss his own fan reaction roller coaster, as he heard the same rumors we did, which got even his hopes up for Tron Ascension becoming an actual reality. When he drops the hammer about the heartbreaking cancellation of the film, which was allegedly in its pre-production period, there are two clear culprits that Bruce Boxleitner has named in the supposed lack of interest among the Disney brass: Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm. Which means that while we’re getting a spiffy new Star Wars film, and we’ll be stocked with superhero pictures for the next couple decades, we’ll probably never see Tron fight for the user again – and if we do, it will probably be without the original Tron.
If you’re a Tron fan, you were obviously upset about the cancellation of the project, and if you’re a true die hard you probably took it pretty hard. We can assure you, though, you can’t possibly be taking the news harder than Bruce Boxleitner. Reading his reaction and begrudging acceptance that Tron Ascension is a lost cause is heartbreaking in and of itself. Tron Legacy managed to make a profit, as well as hold up as a worthy sequel to the 1982 original. You’d think that the money Disney is bringing in with the Marvel Studios machine practically printing it for them twice a year, as well as the hypothetical windfall Star Wars: The Force Awakens is going to run into this winter, they’d be able to easily set aside some seed money to prepare Tron Ascension for a summer 2017 – 2018 release date. A revival wouldn’t be that crazy if Disney was hauling in money bins full of cash and box office records. Unfortunately, for all of the reasons Boxleitner mentioned, this seems about as likely as the Disneyland resort bringing back their ElecTRONica attractions.
At the very least, Tron fans can relive the thrills of the franchise by re-watching Tron and Tron Legacy - which are available on Blu Ray and DVD. Or, if you’re up for a trip to Singapore, a themed attraction is being built in the Shangai Disneyland’s Tomorrowland section
