Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Tron: Ares!One of the final scenes in Tron: Ares is used to set up the franchise’s future, as Jared Leto’s Ares searches for a woman seen in a few pH๏τos. This comes after the former Dillinger program gains freedom through the permanence code and seeks to understand what life in the real world is all about.

Ares explores different countries and is shown writing a postcard to Eve Kim (Greta Lee) teasing what he’s up to. What we’re clued into is he’s trying to find an unnamed woman featured in two pictures: one from a newspaper with Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and a second of the woman in an undisclosed jungle with coordinates marking where she was last seen.

It’s a quick moment that could leave some confused about exactly where the franchise is heading after Tron: Ares‘ ending, especially since the movie comes 15 years after the last installment. Luckily, it is known who this girl is, and Ares’ search for her is a pivotal development for his character and what could come next.

Olivia Wilde’s Quorra Is The Woman In The Picture Ares Is Looking For

The pH๏τos that Ares is looking at are only shown on screen for a few seconds, but the woman is instantly recognizable to Tron fans, as it’s none other than Quorra, who Olivia Wilde played in Tron: Legacy. She’s sporting the short black haircut she had in that movie as she’s standing next to Sam in the newspaper picture.

The other image appears to be from her last known location. Quorra looks more like what Wilde normally does in real life, with longer brown hair replacing the black bob cut. There are coordinates written in the top left corner of this printed pH๏τo, suggesting that Ares got it from someone as he was looking for leads on her.

Quorra is no ordinary digital program in Tron: Legacy. She was part of an evolved set of programs known as ISOs and was taught by Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) for years. This leads her to work with Sam, develop a connection with him, and ultimately escape The Grid in Legacy‘s ending, allowing her to live free in the real world.

Since a direct sequel to Tron: Legacy never happened, what happened to Quorra and Sam after riding into the sunrise was never revealed. Now we know that they were in the public eye together for at least some time before they both stepped out of the spotlight.

Why Ares Is Searching For Quorra

Now, Ares is trying to figure out more specifically what life has been like for Quorra since escaping The Grid. This could be driven by an interest in connecting with someone who has a similar background, as they are the only two programs who have gone on to live in the real world.

How they came to do this was very different, though. While Ares needed the permanence code to live for more than 29 minutes, that was never a concern for Quorra. He may want to know more about the ISOs and what made them miracles in Kevin’s eyes.

There’s even a chance that Quorra and the other ISOs did have the permanence code without anyone knowing it, allowing her to live without a deresolution countdown. Kevin came up with the code before he became trapped in The Grid in 1989. As he was working to expand the digital frontier, giving any of his programs this code would make sense.

It is worth noting that Ares’ interest in Quorra stems from a moment well before he disobeyed directives and fought to help Eve. While in the Dillinger Grid, he’s searching for information on Encom and Eve, and this leads to a newspaper briefly flashing in front of him that has the headline: “Who Is Sam Flynn’s Mystery Companion?”

Quorra’s face isn’t visible in this scene, but the headline is the same as the one on the newspaper Ares has at the end. This moment clearly stuck with him, especially if he was not able to find any information on who she was. Something has led him to believe that Quorra is a program like him who has now achieved a new life.

Will Olivia Wilde’s Quorra Return In Tron 4?

Giving Ares two pH๏τos of Quorra is a very purposeful decision for the future of the franchise, it seems. Disney hasn’t announced any plans for Tron 4, but the plan for the sequel would clearly be to have Leto and Wilde’s programs meet up in the real world.

What would happen from there is anyone’s guess, but it would be nonsensical for Tron: Ares to end in this fashion and not pay it off in the next installment. Even if there are no contracts in place for another movie, the franchise is in a position where it can’t move forward without Wilde returning.

Wilde hasn’t spoken about the prospects of returning as Quorra for years, as she hasn’t been linked to the franchise since Legacy‘s director Joseph Kosinski was working on a follow-up, Tron: Ascension​​​​​​. She is still quite active as a performer, as well as moving into directing her own movies, so Disney could still have luck in luring her back.

Should she return for Tron 4, questions will turn to whether Hedlund reprises his role as Sam, too. It would be disappointing to see only one half of the Legacy starring duo get to come back, so hopefully wherever Quorra is, Sam is right there too. We’ll only know for sure if the franchise continues after Tron: Ares.