Tron: Ares star Jeff Bridges offers a cryptic new tease about how he returns in the upcoming film. Directed by Joachim Rønning, the third installment in the Tron franchise follows the events of the 2010 sequel. Though Bridges’ Kevin Flynn seemingly died in that movie’s climax, the actor is now set to play a role in the Tron: Ares story.

During a recent interview with Empire, Bridges is pressed for information about his return in the new movie, and the star only adds to the mystery. The actor teases that the digital universe of The Grid opens up plenty of opportunities, including allowing a piece of Flynn to have lived on:

“Yeah, I was a bit surprised. You know, this is the Grid. The whole digital universe is all up for grabs. It’s all possible in that place. It worked out that I still have some sort of consciousness.”

Bridges goes on to speak about how Flynn has changed since that debut installment back in 1982, teasing that new developments in the Tron universe have totally changed his character’s perception of the world and his mission:

“As human beings, we seek perfection. And sometimes we miss the whole point of the thing — the idea of the journey being the destination. Flynn originally explored the digital world in the hopes of achieving some sort of perfection for humanity, but now… the plot thickens, you know? As The Dude might say, new sh*t has come to light.”

What This Means For Tron: Ares

Kevin Flynn’s Return May Not Undo Legacy’s Ending

At the end of Tron: Legacy, Flynn seemingly sacrifices himself to stop CLU, an evil program that shares his likeness. The two beings appeared to merge together before then exploding, and the implication is that they both died.

Clearly, Bridges return in the Tron: Ares cast alongside actors like Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, and Gillian Anderson suggests this isn’t the case. Bridges’ comment hints that, instead of Flynn’s physical form having survived his fight with CLU, the character’s consciousness has somehow become integrated with the very fabric of The Grid.

How Flynn’s survival as an abstract enтιтy would play into Ares‘ story remains to be seen. The new film stars Leto as the тιтular character, a program that leaves the digital world of The Grid behind to travel into the real world to accomplish a dangerous mission. It’s not clear what Ares’ mission is, but it’s possible that Flynn and his new view of humanity play into this.

Our Take On Bridges’ Return In Tron: Ares

Flynn’s Return Is A Fitting Tie To The Past

From the Tron: Ares trailers, it’s clear that this film is meant to serve as a soft reboot of sorts, putting a new spin on the franchise to bring in an entirely new generation of viewers who didn’t see the original or Legacy. Considering the 2010 film was a bit of a let-down at the box office, this certainly makes sense as a strategy.

That being said, bringing Bridges back as Flynn ensures there is a degree of franchise continuity. This new movie isn’t entirely throwing out the past, and his return could help rope in existing fans who remain invested in the story that has been told thus far.

Though Bridges is careful not to divulge too much, his comment about Flynn’s previous view of humanity could be taken as a tease that he returns as more of an antagonist. In any case, Bridges’ return is evidently one big reason to be excited about Tron: Ares.

Source: Empire