Despite being atop an iconic Light Cycle, Tron: Ares may be the end of the road for Jared Leto. The controversial Oscar-winner takes the lead in Disney’s latest attempt at rebooting the 80s franchise which, despite some stunning special effects and a heart-thumping soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails, has crashed at burned at the box office. Following the apparent failure of Tron: Ares, as well as box office bombs Haunted Mansion and Morbius, sources are now speculating that Leto’s time as a leading man is over.
Released in theaters earlier this month, Tron: Ares, which is a project that Leto himself has been trying to get made for years, has grossed just $64 million worldwide against a reported $180 million budget. While there have been concerns all along that the Tron franchise itself is not wide-reaching enough to constitute a big-budget follow-up, insiders are now seriously questioning why Jared Leto keeps getting such prominent roles.
“In a world where Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and Benedict Cumberbatch are having a hard time getting lead roles, why would you even go to a person who can’t open a movie and who has question marks around him as a person?” one top talent manager partner asked while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter.
And it’s a great question. After the utter embarrassment of Morbius (which somehow managed to bomb at the box office twice in what must be some sort of infamous record), putting Jared Leto front and center of a franchise that has already struggled in the past is baffling. And it’s especially baffling when the actor now has as many as nine sexual misconduct allegations (which his representatives have denied) hanging over him.
‘Tron: Ares “Could Have Had Ryan Gosling, It Wasn’t Going to Work”
There have been major concerns surrounding Jared Leto for some time, with previous reports suggesting that Disney had been worried about the controversial actor taking center stage in both the movie and during promotional press circuits. But take center stage he did, and The House of Mouse now has what’s likely to be one of the biggest box office bombs laying on its doorstep like a burning bag of poop. However, not everyone is placing the blame squarely on Leto. Again, speaking with THR, an agency partner simply feels that there is zero appetite for the Tron franchise outside a few hardcore fans, and that no actor could have sold the semi-sequel.
“You could have had Ryan Gosling, it wasn’t going to work,” they said. “No one asked for this reboot. If you say, ‘Tron: Ares is good, we just needed a different actor,’ you’re deluding yourself.”
Not only could the failure of Tron: Ares have (finally?) faded Jared Leto’s star power to less than a flicker, but sources have also commented on the fate of the franchise overall, saying “Tron will likely retire from the big screen.” While the idea of the radiant neon of The Grid being reduced to the small screen might at first feel like a cinematic crime, those who have seen the 100% Rotten Tomatoes rated Tron series, Tron: Uprising, will know that there is a lot of potential to be found.
Jared Leto, meanwhile, does already have a few projects already in the pipeline, with his starring role as the villainous icon Skeletor in Amazon’s upcoming Masters of the Universe reboot already causing all manner of worry.
- Release Date
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October 10, 2025
- Runtime
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119 minutes
- Director
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Joachim Rønning
- Producers
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Jared Leto, Jeffrey Silver, Sean Bailey, Steven Lisberger, Emma Ludbrook