Tron: Ares Director Confirms Production Is Shut Down Indefinitely Due to Strikes
The Jared Leto movie gets delayed during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Tron: Ares director Joachim Rønning says that the film is on indefinite hold right now after the writers and actors' strikes. On Instagram, the filmmaker informed fans of the impact such delays have had on the Disney sequel. Rønning said, "we are shut down with over a hundred and fifty people laid off." Now, while that picture is certainly dire, the studios are not without fault in this equation. The director argues that both the studios and the guilds should come to the table to resolve this issue so people can get back to work. WGA leadership has explained their stance on the negotiations thus far. So, it doesn't seem likely that there will be a resolution in the immediate period.
Here's what Rønning said on Instagram, "It's indefinite, which makes it exponentially harder for everyone." The Tron: Ares director would also plead for a resolution as well. "The AMPTP, SAG-AFTRA and WGA need to speed up the negotiating process and not leave the table until it's done," he continued.
"This is Hollywood. We close deals for breakfast," Rønning argued. "Why do we suddenly have all the time in the world when every day is so precious? These tactics are extremely frustrating. It's time for diplomacy so we can get back to work – under conditions that are fair to everybody #amptp #sagaftra #wga."
What Took Tron 3 So Long To Be Announced?
While Tron: Legacy holds a soft spot for many Millenial viewers, the third film has been very slow to materialize. Director Joseph Kosinski previously talked to Vulture about why this had been the case last year. In his opinion, any frustration with the languid pace of development rests with the high-profile acquisitions of Marvel and Star Wars by the studio. Basically, after spending all that money, Disney had to get after it to justify this purchases.
"I got so close. I really tried. I got close in 2015, and Disney pulled the plug on it," Kosinski explained. "I hadn't built anything, but I had the whole movie storyboarded and written. I was really excited because it was inverting the idea: It was all that stuff coming into our world, and it was about the blending of the two."
"It was a different Disney by 2015. When I made TRON: Legacy, they didn't own Marvel; they didn't own Star Wars. We were the play for fantasy and science fiction. And once you've got those other things under your umbrella, it makes sense that you're going to put your money into a known property and not the weird art student with black fingernails in the corner -- that was TRON." Kosinski remembered.
Tron 3 Was Full-Steam Ahead Before the Strike
Before the strikes took hold, it was full-steam ahead for Tron: Ares. Tron creator Steven Lisberger was brought aboard to lend a hand with the third entry. The Hollywood Reporter interviewed the creative ahead of TRON: Ares. While he had a ton of ideas for the sequel, he decided to rein it in a bit to make the story more accessible.
"The Tron team is hard at work," Lisberger began. "They are always hard at work. It's going to happen. My goal with these things in playing the Obi-Wan role is to say the one sentence that has an impact. I try to say something that is useful to them without getting into the weeds."
"We shot a storyboard movie on Tron 1. One of Disney's Nine Old Men was still out at the studio. I was so excited to show it to him because lord knows I could have used a mentor at that point. I showed him our storyboard movie. He sat there, he watched the whole thing, and then he turned to me and said, 'Kid — you're on your own.' And got up and walked out of the room," Lisberger added as he gestured towards some of the newcomers on the team. "So I'm trying to keep my input down to sentences but hopefully sentences that are some use to them,"
Do you think Tron: Ares is headed for a delay? Let us know in the comments down below!