Tron: Ares star and producer Jared Leto has told RTÉ Entertainment he is thrilled to be a part of the new sci-fi adventure because he loved the original 1982 film Tron so much as a child.
In a story all about AI and big tech, Tron: Ares sees Leto star as Ares, a super-intelligent programme that is dispatched to the real world to track down a CEO (played by Greta Lee) who has made a discovery that will change humanity.
When Leto was asked by RTÉ Entertainment if he agrees with Tron: Ares director Joachim Rønning's assertion that his star is the keeper of the Tron flame, the Oscar winner replied: "I see myself as lucky to be a part of this franchise because I loved it so much as a kid. I can hardly believe I'm here.
"It's a beautiful thing to get a chance to be a part of a story that you connected with so strongly as a young kid. I went to that theatre when I was 11 years old or so and it just blew my mind. Yeah, so I feel really grateful to be involved in any way with this movie."
"I had this strange series of events where I was asked to be in... I had forgotten this until recently, but I was asked to be in the previous Tron, Tron: Legacy, and I couldn't do it at the time," Leto continued.
"Thankfully, I couldn't do it because the other actors were so great! You know, it's happened to me many times in my career where I've been offered a role and then I see the movie and I'm like, 'Oh, thank God I didn't do that because they're so much better than I would have been in that role!' But again, I got to enjoy that movie (Tron: Legacy) as a fan.
"That was 2008 [when] they asked me to do that. And then they were going to make a sequel to that movie - maybe 2011 they started writing or [20]12. And they asked me to be in the sequel. There was a small role to play the bad guy, and the character's name was Ares. I was like, 'Ooh, I don't think this is the right thing for me, but if you don't end up making this version of the script and you're interested in making a film about this character, I'd be really interested as well.'
"And so, they came back to me a year later or so and said, 'Hey, what do you think about developing this?' And I said, 'Absolutely.' And that was like nine years ago or so. And here we are."
Leto said it would be "a beautiful thing" if Tron: Ares inspired a new generation to watch the Jeff Bridges-starring Tron.
"I was thinking about this the other day: you could have been a young kid like me that saw that movie in '82, then brought your kid in 2010 [to Tron: Legacy], and now bring your grandkid in 2025.
"I like the idea that this is an ongoing story, that there's some mythology there. I think it's a worthy world to continue to explore. For me, it's like a Star Wars or something - a Blade Runner, Alien, or something. I find it to be endless, the opportunities that are there."
Tron: Ares is in cinemas from Friday.
