Despite the little we know about Disney’s second anticipated “Tron” sequel, “Tron: Ares,” it’s clear the stars of the film had a good time making it.
Jared Leto revealed in an interview published Monday that the sci-fi franchise’s original star Jeff Bridges, who returns in the 2025 feature as computer programmer Kevin Flynn, had him ruining takes because he couldn’t stop smiling.
“One of the highlights was working with Jeff Bridges. Oh god, he’s just the best,” Leto told Will Arnett, Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman, hosts of the “Smartless” podcast, of working with the Oscar winner. “I had one take where I had to literally say cut, and they’re like, ‘What’s wrong? Did something—?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I just can’t stop f–king smiling.’”
To Bateman then enthusing, “I love that guy,” Leto continued.
“He’s everything. You know, it’s a money back guarantee: That motherf–ker gives you everything you ever wanted,” Leto gushed.
Listen to the full episode below:
“Tron: Ares” got its first public rollout earlier this month at Disney’s D23 fan event, where Leto, Bridges and co-stars Greta Lee and Evan Peters debuted the first extended trailer exclusively to the in-person audience.
“I play Ares, the master of the Grid — a program who’s looking for a way to make the world his own, permanently,” Leto teased at the time.
Eking out more plot details in Monday’s “Smartless,” co-host Hayes asked, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it where the Tron world gets transferred into the real world?”
“Yeah, it’s kind of the opposite, a little bit of the Terminator thing where that technology comes out into Earth,” Leto said.
Also asked if the sequel picks up right where the action of 2010’s “Tron: Legacy” left off, Leto said, “In a way, yeah, it does. It does. So yeah, I’m super excited.”
Expressing enthusiasm and gratitude over his fortune to star in contemporary takes of both “Tron” and “Bladrunner” — “the two movies that really changed my life as a kid” — Leto joked he’s “living in my simulation over here, for sure.” (The “Dallas Buyers Club” Oscar winner starred as the villain in 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049” opposite Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.)
Elsewhere in his “Smartless” interview, Leto breaks down his historic Empire State Building climb, his ongoing world tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars and more. Listen to the full episode here or in the embed above.
“Tron: Ares” is set to hit theaters Oct. 10, 2025.
