Disney is moving forward on their third entry in Tron franchise tentatively titled Tron: Ares. While filming is expected to start until next summer, the studio is already putting together an amazing team to once again bring the world of Tron back to life.

Production Patrice Vermette has been tasked with that job. Vermette, who’s work will next been seen in Warner Bros’ highly-anticipated sci-fi epic Dune. The beauty we have already seen in the images and trailers for Dune means we can expect the same quality for Tron, which is known for its vibrant color aesthetic of Blues and Oranges.

Garth Davis (Lion) is set to direct with Jared Leto (Zack Snyder’s Justice Legue) on board to star. Last we heard on the project was that Disney was looking for a young Asian actress to co-star, the name we had heard thrown around was Mulan herself, Liu Yifei, as of now, it is unknown if things have changed since. Jesse Wigutow (It Runs in the Family) has written the most recent draft of the script.

Jared Leto teases some potential new Tron 3 announcements are on the horizon in a promising update on the movie. It's been over five years since reports first surfaced that Leto could star in a new Tron movie. Disney revived the original 1982 sci-fi franchise in 2010, as Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and a returning Jeff Bridges starred in Tron: Legacy. Following mixed reviews, Disney struggled to find the right path forward for the series, but 2017 brought news that Jared Leto could star in a Tron reboot, which has since been described as more of a sequel rather than a franchise reset.

In the five years since Leto has been linked to Tron 3, the movie didn't really start to make much progress until 2020, when Disney re-entered the film into development. It was shortly after this that Garth Davis (Lion) was announced as Tron 3's director. Leto seemingly revealed the sequel's title in celebration of the announcement, as a since-deleted tweet referred to the movie as Tron: Ares. Despite the star then teasing his physical transformation to lead the sci-fi sequel movie, there hasn't been any significant update on where the movie stands for more than a year.

As audiences wait for Tron 3, Leto is now out promoting Sony's Morbius ahead of its theatrical release on April 1. Screen Rant had the opportunity to talk to the Morbius star as part of the press tour, and the conversation eventually included a question about the status of Tron 3. Leto can't say much about the project beyond sharing his enthusiasm to eventually make the movie. However, he does offer a promising Tron 3 update in the process that teases more news might be on the horizon:

I'm a super fan of Tron, and we are working hard on Tron with our incredible partners at Disney. Just an amazing group of creative people. We're getting closer. We're getting closer and closer, and who knows? Something may be [coming] sooner than later.

Leto's promising Tron 3 update could finally be a sign that Disney is choosing to move forward with the sequel. Despite having Leto attached to star, Davis attached to direct, and a script from Jesse Wigutow, Disney has yet to officially give Tron 3 the green light, according to reports. The lack of movement on the sequel in the press could be because the work to figure out different elements has been happening behind closed doors.

EXCLUSIVE: A new installment of Tron is coming back online. The Dish hears that Disney is in early negotiations to set Joachim Rønning to direct Jared Leto in Tron: Ares. The film is crewing up, eyeing an August start date in Vancouver.

Deals aren’t complete yet, but this would mark the fourth collaboration between Disney and the Norwegian filmmaker who helmed Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. He has wrapped for the studio the Daisy Ridley-starrer Young Woman and the Sea, about the daring journey of Gertrude Ederle, a New York teen who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Jeff Nathanson scripted it and Jerry Bruckheimer produces with him.

Now it’s on to the Disney sci-fi franchise, which began with the 1982 film that starred Jeff Bridges and was set inside the computer program called the Grid, where a computer hacker is abducted and forced to participate in gladiatorial games. The first one wasn’t more than a cult favorite, though its special effects were seen as game-changing at the time. That following swelled around the film in years to come as it played on cable only helped grow its popularity, to the point where Disney decided to move forward with a sequel, Tron: Legacy, in 2010, with Bridges reprising his role and Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde joining the franchise. That film grossed $400 million globally, and Disney has been trying to figure out how to continue the franchise since.

Studio got close in 2017 with Leto. Now it will be in the hands of Rønning, who early on broke into Hollywood co-directing with Espen Sandberg Kon-Tiki, the 2013 film that was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, and chronicled Thor Heyerdah’s epic 4300 mile crossing of the Pacific Ocean on a balsawood raft in 1947. Young Woman and the Sea isn’t slotted yet, but it has been testing strongly.

The Tron: Ares script is by Jesse Wigutow and is considered the sequel to Tron: Legacy, which was directed by Joe Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick).

Sean Bailey and Sam Dickerman are the execs.

The producers are Justin Springer (Tron Legacy), Leto, Jeffrey Silver, and Leto’s Paradox partner Emma Ludbrook.

Leto, who will next star in Disney’s Haunted Mansion, is repped by WME and attorney Barry Hirsch; Ronning is UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and attorney Warren Dern.