Tron: Ares director Joachim Rønning has revealed why the new sequel won’t feature any returning characters from the franchise apart from Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn.

Tron: Ares arrives in United States theaters next month from Walt Disney Pictures. A sequel to 1982’s Tron and 2010’s Tron: Legacy, the movie stars Jared Leto as Ares, Greta Lee as Eve Kim, Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger, Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena, and more.

What did Joachim Rønning say about Tron: Ares and Jeff Bridges?

Bridges starred in the first two films in the franchise; however, he’s the only one who is coming back for the franchise — perhaps most notably, Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde won’t be reprising their respective roles as Sam Flynn and Quorra.

Speaking to SFX magazine about why only Bridges is returning, Rønning said, “These things are not only creative choices; sometimes actors don’t want to be in it anymore…There are different ways of looking at that, but I think the story fell into a place where we felt that we didn’t need the old characters to be front and centre. We wanted to take this into a new direction while, at the same time, honoring the universe that we’re in.”

Producer Justin Springer added, “We’re telling a story that’s 14 years later, and the most important thing is that we tell this new story in a way that works. To just throw cameos in, where it’s a parade of people that we love from this franchise, I just feel like it’s fan service that doesn’t serve the story. But we are definitely focused on ways to surprise the audience. If we don’t touch something in this movie, I always think about where else we can play. I produced the animated series [Tron: Uprising] and I worked on the theme park rides. There are all sorts of different ways to keep the mythology alive, whether that be in a film or a series or whatever, if we’re so lucky.”

Tron: Ares arrives on October 10, 2025.

Originally reported by Brandon Schreur at SuperHeroHype.