I have never seen the original Tron film.

Not out of choice.

But as an avid gamer and a huge Disneyana fan,

I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT FOR TR2N

AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY

BUT JOHN LASSETTER IS AWESOME

SO I REALLY REALLY CAN'T WAIT

Yup, that sums it up.

Great article Jim! Except, being the Tron fan-boy I am, wouldn't a better headline have been "It's END-OF-LINE for Tron Director"?

Just a humble suggestion :)

First, while technically a sequel, since the original is ancient AND was semi-unseen, it's more a re-launch a la the recent (and much closer to its original version) "Hulk" movie. Toy Story 3 is more definitely a continuation of an existing franchise.

Second, good joke re "END-OF-LINE" but that brings up an interesting "problem" re. both the old film and the new. The first was full of computer jargon catchphrases like that--something that both endeared it to the "in" crowd at the time and alienated the general audience it failed to capture the imagination of. SO....if they do too much of that now, its a problem...but, since today the computer terms and phrases (LOL, etc. etc.) have become a part of general lexicon for most people, there's less alien-ness on the one hand, but less special-ness on the other. An interesting problem to solve in the script and line to walk in the film.

Lastly, Tron's rabid fans were few, but that was part of THEIR fun--they were the cutting edge computer geek community that finally had a movie for THEM made. To make a mass-market hit, Lasseter knows it has to have more than that--goodies for the in-crowd, but feeling, humor, and heart for everyone (and btw, characters like that just happen to work better as spin-off products from plushies to video games, too.)

Frankly, I was cool to the idea of the remake/sequel/whatever when Jim first told us about it, but now that I know where the impulse comes from, I'm more encouraged and interested.

For a "numbers guy" I gotta congratulate you Jim on not reporting the quarterly earnings report and how Disney seems to be OK while weathering the economy.

TR2N or whatever sound ok but I find it kinda weak as a tentpole idea.  Isn't Prince of Persia or Dawn Treader coming out that year?

No Jim, it's not ironic.  It's not ironic at all.

Toy Story 3 is the continuation of a VERY popular / profitable franchise.  TR2N will probably make a bit of cash for Disney, but my bet is that it will just attract the gamers / fan boys.  Yeah, Tron was an iconic film for visuals, but so was the Matrix...

An effects driven movie with Jeff Bridges in the lead?  

It's got 'turkey' written all over it.  

Yup, just like that other effects-driven movie co-starring Jeff Bridges, with Robert Downey, Jr. in the lead.  Turrrrkey.

Hey, There are quite a few people who are waiting for the sequel/prequel/whatever to 20,000 LEAGUES! And that one's been over 50 years in the offing......

I saw TRON as a kid at the movie theaters, and I was frankly unimpressed. I'm equally unimpressed by news of a sequel.

I am VERY excited, but I saw Tron in the theatre. Although I have shown the movie on DVD to my son, my daughter and a few nieces and nephews (ages 2 - 12) and they all liked it too (more the boys than the girls).

I knew that Lasseter was involved in this. I had heard that Tron was one of his inspirations for getting into computer animation.

Lostincrowds said this would be a turkey and related it to the Matrix. This actually is a GREAT comparison. These two movies are very similar in their geekdom appeal and tone. Lets looks at worldwide grosses for all 3 Matrix films.

The Matrix  -  $460.7 mil  -  1999

The Matrix Reloaded  -  $738.6 - 2003

The Matrix Revolutions  -  $425 mil  -  2003

Yeah, that sounds like a real Turkey! ;-)

I agree with John Lassetter's assessment of the first film. TRON was visually stunning, but the storyline was rather dry. Just like the other big Disney sci-fi film from that era, "The Black Hole." I think that if they can combine cutting-edge graphics with a compelling story, TR2N could be a fairly big hit. I was at Comic-Con and saw the clip, so I'm not worried about the graphics.

My only question: In the first movie, the titular character was played by Bruce Boxleitner. Will he also be returning? I hope not. As much as I enjoyed "Babylon 5," I think Bruce is a pretty lightweight actor.

Does it really matter that it's a sequel? I think that video they showed at Comic-Con would get a lot of people, fans or not, interested in this movie. It looks sweet, the action is good, and if it was in 3D then that could attract even more people.

I don't think Disney needs to spend $150m on it, but I do think it would be successful enough to warrant making. I think there are enough dedicated fans to make a reasonably expensive TRON movie profitable, sequel or no. A lot of the movie can be shot "digital backlot", with the only real CG being the big action sequences, which would probably be fairly affordable.

Re the budget, droidguy1119....here's the conundrum. IF you make a digitally-created/enhanced feature these days that uses the tried-and-true existing tech, yes, it can be done relatively inexpensively. BUT...if you make it that way, you abdicate claims to be "the next advance" and thus a huge chunk of the "gotta have the latest and greatest" audience. It causes you to REALLY have a GREAT story and characters to overcome your "lame" visuals--and yes, that can work. But usually not cheaply because the reflex is to hire more expensive actors, even voice-over actors, and other gimmicks. When it works--"Kung Fu Panda" comes to mind as a not-particularly-advanced-animation-visually but heart-and-stars content hit---it works. When it doesn't, people at the studio AND in the audience are left saying "Yeah, but how much would we have made if we'd invested another $50 mil in really GREAT and NEW effects?"

Hmmm ..This has digital 3D written all over it. Seems like it's destined for a narrow audience of gamers, though, like a skateboarding movie is for skaters.

Re Digital 3D...there has been a LOT of grousing in the trades lately and at industry conferences about how SLOWLY the US theater exhibitors are converting to digital and digital-3D projection capability. Recent releases were planned for MANY more screens than they could actually get on because of slow-downs in construction and other delays by exhibitors. The basic feeling among producers is "Hey, you guys wanted a better mousetrap to get people to come to the theater instead of staying home with their flatscreens so you can sell them your overpriced popcorn, and we give it to you and you haven't stepped up and spent the cash to put in the gizmos yet. What gives? Do you WANT to be obsolete?"

But the untold story is more complex. One of the not-so-secret within the biz facts of life when producers deal with theaters is this: Movie theaters, even the BIG chains, are VERY SLOW PAYS and enjoy making money on the producers' money for a while before paying up, especially on megahits like Batman and Ironman and the like. Well one of the doohickeys built into a lot of the digital projection systems or proposed for them is a way for distributors to police that--literally by having the digital projector check in online before every showing to make sure the bills are up to date--otherwise, NO SHOW.

So....there's a lot of infighting going on in the biz over these side-issue ramifications of digital exhibition. In major cities and great locations, the theaters have an added incentive to put in digital projection, especially in multiplexes with varying sized houses---they are doing a pretty good business in renting theaters to business conferences in the daytime or even on off weeknights because that big digitally-driven screen can run powerpoints just as easily as it runs feature films.

I don't think classic movies should be remade, and a sequel after that many years is essentially a re-make. OTOH, Tron, while a good movie, was no classic, and given the huge progress made in CG since then I am looking forward to it. I have some concern based on the teaser trailer shown at SDCC. I really liked the Jeff Bridges character, and I would hate to see him "Iron manned".

As for Toy Story 3, it's basically the same guys who did the first one, so it will likely be good.

wedway beat me to it.  XD  Geeks unite, I guess!

All of my geek friends preferred "War Games" to "Tron".  I was the lone hold-out for "Tron"...  I will definitely check out the "TR2N" follow-along flick.  Better late than never.  I hope it's good!

bonk!

See you on the Game Grid.....

Harry Knowles got an email from Lisberger that he posted on Aintitcool:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37760

Hey Harry-

Jim Hill’s piece on Tr2n sounds very dramatic but actually we are trying to put all the drama into the script. I can assure you I am very much involved with Tr2n. It’s a collaborative effort just like the first film was. We have a very talented and dedicated young group and I am doing my best to inspire them as much as they are inspiring me. The trailer, as amazing as it is, is only the beginning.

All the best,

Steven Lisberger

Skipperwest said:

Hey, There are quite a few people who are waiting for the sequel/prequel/whatever to 20,000 LEAGUES! And that one's been over 50 years in the offing......

Are there really?  I'd kinda think there's even less of a market for that...I only know it as a pop culture reference, and wouldn't care about a sequel.