The groundbreaking 1982 science fiction classic TRON celebrated its 40th anniversary at D23 Expo 2022. Producer Donald Kushner, associate producer Harrison Ellenshaw, effects technical supervisor John Scheele, electronic conceptual design and computer effects supervisor Richard Winn Taylor II, animation compositing camera Glenn Campbell, publicist Mike Bonifer, and Carol Green, who was a DGA trainee at the time, all attended the ultimate fan experience for an hour long in-depth discussion of the film’s impact on the industry. Also in attendance, for the anniversary panel was Tron himself, Bruce Boxleitner, who once again said that he’s willing to upload himself to the grid and return for TRON 3.

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The majority of the 40th anniversary panel at D23 Expo looked at TRON’s impact on Hollywood as it has the distinction of being one of the earliest films to use computer generated imagery (CGI) extensively. However, as the panel came to a close, the TRON panelists looked toward the franchise’s future and said they were hopeful another movie was in the works.

“We have hope,” the panelists agreed. “Let’s hope there’s a TRON 3.”

Almost a decade ago after TRON: Legacy was released, TRON 3 was on the verge of being greenlit for the first when Disney suddenly canceled the film to focus on Marvel and Star Wars, and saying it had an overcrowded release calendar. However, rumors a third film is in development have continued to swirl in fandom ever since then (and to be fair, the studio and actors have dropped hints over the years). In August 2020, Deadline reported that Garth Davis had been tapped to direct a new TRON movie with Jared Leto (although the film hadn’t been officially green lit), and in March 2022, Leto teased he was “working hard on TRON” and that “something may be coming sooner rather than later.”

Boxleitner, who has addressed the third film on more than occasion, once again addressed the rumors about TRON 3 to a group of fans after the D23 panel, saying, “A little birdie said TRON 3 is in development.” Then, when he was asked for confirmation about whether he could confirm if a third film was in development, he added, “I wouldn’t be here [at D23] if I wasn’t down to come back.”

Bruce Boxleitner ‘Owes a Great Deal’ to TRON

     Rebecca Oliver Kaplan

During TRON’s 40th anniversary panel at D23 Expo, the panelists swapped stories about the challenges of bringing the science fiction film to life, and Boxleitner recalled that he didn’t quite understand what the film was actually about when he first read the script. However, he signed on to play the role of Tron because he had recently lost the part of Luke Skywalker to Mark Hamill (and instead of playing with lightsabers, he got to play with light discs).

“I owe a great deal to this film,” said Boxleitner, crediting the 1982 film for helping him land future science fiction projects like Babylon 5. The actor also took a moment to acknowledge his co-star and lifelong friend Jeff Bridges, who played Kevin Flynn. “He still calls me ‘Tronster,’ and I call him ‘Flynnster,’” said Boxletiner.