‘Lion’ Director Garth Davis To Direct Disney’s New ‘Tron’ Movie With Jared Leto

EXCLUSIVE: After taking its time figuring out where it wants the next Tron installment to go, Disney’s sci-fi franchise looks to have new life as we are hearing Garth Davis has been tapped to direct the pic starring Jared Leto.

Davis has been better known for his smaller art house films over the years like 2018’s Mary Magdalene and his critically acclaimed 2016 drama Lion, which received six Oscar nominations including for Best Picture. Tron would mark Davis’ first tentpole, and though he is not known for big-budget projects, insiders say Davis aggressively pursued the job, eventually winning over execs.

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Jesse Wigutow wrote the most recent draft of the script. Leto is producing along with Justin Springer and Emma Ludbrook.

The original 1982 film starring Jeff Bridges was set inside the computer program called the Grid, where a computer hacker is abducted and forced to participate in gladiatorial games. The film wasn’t a hit and received mixed reviews, even though its special effects were seen as game-changing at the time. The cult following that swelled around the film in years to come as it played on cable only helped grow its popularity, to the point where Disney decided to move forward with a sequel, Tron: Legacy, in 2010, with Bridges reprising his role and Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde joining the franchise.

That film did go on to have box office success, bringing in $400 million globally, but even so plans for a sequel were pushed while Disney figured out how to move the story forward. The studio eventually scrapped plans for a direct sequel to Tron: Legacy, and even after Leto attached himself in 2017 and has been taking their time in figuring out next steps for this project.

Davis coming on to the project signals the next installment may finally happen, but insiders still stress a greenlight has not been given. The film is still in development but Davis’ involvement is a push in the right direction for the future of the franchise.

Davis is repped by UTA.

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