Warning: contains SPOILERS for Tron: Ares!One of the final scenes of Tron: Ares is used to set up the future of the franchise, as Jared Leto’s Ares searches for a woman seen in a few photos. This comes after the old Dillinger program gains freedom from the Permanency Code and seeks to understand what life is like in the real world.
Ares explores different countries and is shown writing a postcard to Eve Kim (Greta Lee) to tease what he is doing. What we do know is that he’s trying to find an unnamed woman featured in two photos: one from a newspaper with Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and a second of the woman in an undisclosed jungle with coordinates marking where she was last seen.
It’s a quick moment that might leave some confused as to exactly where the franchise is headed. Tron: Ares‘ ends, especially since the film arrives 15 years after the last opus. Luckily, we know who this girl is, and the search for Ares is a crucial development for her character and what might come next.
Olivia Wilde’s Quorra is the woman in the photo Ares is looking for
The photos Ares looks at only appear on the screen for a few seconds, but the woman is instantly recognizable. Tron fans, because it is none other than Quorra, in which Olivia Wilde played Tron: Legacy. She’s wearing the short, black hairstyle she had in that movie as she stands next to Sam in the newspaper photo.
The other image appears to be from its last known location. Quorra looks more like Wilde normally does in real life, with longer brown hair replacement of black bob cut. There are coordinates written in the upper left corner of this printed photo, suggesting that Ares obtained them from someone while he was looking for leads on her.
Quorra is not an ordinary digital program Tron: Legacy. It was part of an evolved set of programs known as ISO. and was taught by Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) for years. This leads him to work with Sam, develop a connection with him, and ultimately escape The Grid. Legacyends, allowing him to live freely in the real world.
Since a direct sequel to Tron: Legacy This never happened, what happened to Quorra and Sam after reaching sunrise was never revealed. We now know that they were together in the public eye for at least a while before they both faded from the spotlight.
Why Ares is looking for Quorra
Now Ares is trying to understand more precisely what Quorra’s life has been like since escaping The Grid. This could be driven by an interest in connecting with someone with a similar background.as these are the only two programs that have continued to live in the real world.
But the way they came to do this was very different. Even though Ares needed the permanence code to live more than 29 minutes, this was never a problem for Quorra. He might want to know more about ISOs and what makes them a miracle in Kevin’s eyes.
There is even a chance that Quorra and other ISOs have the permanence code without anyone knowing, allowing him to live without a countdown of deresolution. Kevin invented the code before becoming trapped in The Grid in 1989. As he worked to expand the digital frontier, giving this code to any of his programs would make sense.
It should be noted that Ares’ interest in Quorra dates back to a time long before he disobeyed directives and fought to help Eve. While in the Dillinger Grid, he searches for information on Encom and Eve, leading to a brief flash in front of him of a journal titled: “Who is Sam Flynn’s Mystery Companion?”
Quorra’s face is not visible in this scene, but the headline is the same as the Ares journal at the end. This moment clearly scarred him, especially if he couldn’t find any information about who she was. Something has led him to believe that Quorra is a program like him that has now managed a new life.
Will Olivia Wilde’s Quorra return in Tron 4?
Giving Ares two pictures of Quorra is, it seems, a very useful move for the future of the franchise. Disney has not announced any plans for Tron 4but the plan for the sequel would clearly be to have Leto and Wilde’s programs meet in the real world.
What would happen from there is anyone’s guess, but it wouldn’t make sense to Tron: Ares finish this way and not pay it back in the next payment. Even though there is no contract in place for another film, the franchise is in a position where it cannot move forward without the return of Wilde.
Wilde hasn’t spoken about the prospects of returning as Quorra in years, as she hasn’t been linked to the franchise since LegacyThe Joseph Kosinski director was working on a follow-up, Tron: Ascension. She’s still very active as a performer and is also branching out into directing her own films, so Disney might still be lucky to lure her back.
Should she come back for Tron 4questions will turn to whether Hedlund will also reprise his role as Sam. It would be disappointing to see only half of the Legacy the star duo will return, so hopefully wherever Quorra is, Sam is there too. We will only know for sure if the franchise continues after Tron: Ares.
- Release date
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October 10, 2025
- Runtime
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119 minutes
- Director
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Joachim Rønning
- Writers
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Jesse Wigutow, David DiGilio, Steven Lisberger, Bonnie MacBird
- Producers
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Jared Leto, Jeffrey Silver, Sean Bailey, Steven Lisberger, Emma Ludbrook
