Warning: SPOILERS for Tron: Ares are ahead!
The Tron franchise returned to the big screen after a 15-year hiatus this past weekend, and unfortunately, Tron: Ares isn’t exactly crushing it at the box office. However, the Jared Leto-starring movie certainly laid the groundwork for another movie if the fates align. The 2025 movie release chiefly did this by including a wild throwback to the original Tron, making me all the more glad I watched the 1982 sci-fi flick for the first time ahead of Ares’ release.
That’s all well and good, but if Tron 4 happens, this revived Tron plot thread wouldn’t be my main reason for seeing this movie. Rather, there’s a loose end from Tron: Ares tied to 2010’s Tron: Legacy that I really need to see tied up. And no, it’s not where Sam and Quorra are… although I would certainly like to know that information. But let’s talk about Ares’ mid-credits tease first.
Julian Dillinger Gets A Familiar Upgrade
To say Julian Dillinger was screwed as Tron: Ares was wrapping up would be an understatement. His plot to kidnap Eve Kim again and obtain the Permanence Code was foiled thanks to Ajay, Seth and Erin shutting down the Dillinger Systems mainframe, which also resulted in the permanent deresolution of Athena after her allotted 29 minutes were up. The authorities surrounded the Dillinger headquarters soon afterwards, knowing Julian was responsible for the devastation in the city, and he was also surely going to take the fall for his mother’s death.
With prison looming in his future, Evan Peters’ character instead decided to activate his particle laser and send himself into the ruins of the Dillinger Grid. There, he found a familiar-looking identity disk that started transforming him the instant he touched it. This is the same disk that belonged to Sark, the program that served the Master Control Program (MCP) in the original Tron and was made by Julian’s grandfather, Edward Dillinger Sr. (with the late David Warner performing all three roles).
So, what does Julian becoming the new Sark mean? Well, I imagine he’ll obtain the power to restore the Dillinger Systems Grid. However, with ENCOM now using the Permanence Code to better the world, he’ll need a new long-term goal to work towards. Even if he finds a way out of The Grid, he’ll still be wanted for his various crimes. But could the power of Sark somehow transfer into the real world? Or would Julian remain a digitally-confined villain? I’m definitely interested in learning the answers to these questions.
What Does The Permanence Code Mean For Quorra?
At the end of Tron: Legacy, Olivia Wilde’s Quorra successfully made it into the real world with Garrett Hedlund’s Sam Flynn, and together they were going to change the world. However, it appears they never got around to doing this, or at least not publicly, We learn in Tron: Ares that the two disappeared after Sam resigned from ENCOM for “personal reasons,” and Ares set out to find them by the time this new movie was done. Again, I welcome this mystery being solved, but what’s more important for me at the moment is learning what the Permanence Code means for Quorra’s existence.
When Quorra left the Tron: Legacy grid, she seemed just fine, and I guarantee you more than 29 minutes passed between when she and Sam came to the real world and when she saw a sunrise for the first time. How is she able to stay intact without the Permanence Code? Is it because she’s an ISO that she doesn’t have to deal with the same restrictions that “standard” programs like Ares and Athena do? Maybe it has something to do with the framework of Legacy’s grid.
Or is it possible that the Permanence Code does affect her, just more slowly? We briefly see a picture of an older Quorra in Tron: Ares, and frankly, she looks a little sickly in it. What if living without the Permanence Code in her programming is slowly killing her? That would add an extra layer of urgency in Ares finding her and Sam.
Assuming Wilde and Hedlund would be up for reprising their roles, this lingering plot thread would be my main reason for watching Tron 4, with Julian Dillinger as Sark 2.0 being a nice bonus. Rest assured, we’ll let you know here at CinemaBlend if another movie is greenlit. End of line.