Disney has come to its senses and elected not to move forward with “Tron 3,” which was gearing up to start production this fall in Canada under the direction of Joseph Kosinski.
Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde were slated to return to star and Kosinski had been courting Jared Leto and Olivia Munn to co-star in the big-budget sequel.
The cancellation of “Tron 3” comes on the heels of “Tomorrowland” underperforming at the box office last weekend. Brad Bird‘s original film cost Disney $180 million and grossed a disappointing $42.7 million over the four-day holiday weekend.
“Tron 3” had not been officially greenlit yet and after the relative failure of “Tomorrowland,” Disney executives may not have wanted to gamble and risk exposing the studio to another loss.
Instead, Disney will stick to what has worked lately such as live-action versions of its animated films including “Cinderella” and “Maleficent.” The studio has blockbusters such as “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast” and an “Alice in Wonderland” sequel on the horizon.
Released in 2010, “Tron Legacy” grossed $400 million worldwide but despite that impressive haul by most standards, the film wasn’t seen as a huge hit for Disney and its merchandise did not sell as well as the studio hoped.
“Tron: Legacy” starred Hedlund as original “Tron” star Jeff Bridges‘ son, who enters the Grid to find his father. Wilde co-starred as a bad-ass femme fatale who helps him on his journey.
A representative for Disney declined to elaborate on why the studio opted to pull the plug on the project at this juncture, but it may have been a prudent decision.