Tron: Ares ending explained: Laying groundwork for a sequel

Tron: Ares is the recent entry in the Tron franchise that spans across five decades. The sci-fi action film serves as a sequel to 2010's Tron: Legacy and is helmed by Joachim Rønning. Following its premiere in Los Angeles, the film was released in theaters on October 10, 2025.

Here's the official synopsis as published in Letterboxd:

"A highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings."

In this article, we will be exploring how the storyline ends and if it hints at a potential sequel.

How does Tron: Ares end?

A still from Tron: Ares | Image via Disney YouTube

Tron: Ares focuses on Ares (played by Jared Leto), which is a program that is sent into the human world. Its mission is deemed dangerous, which follows the crux of the overall story as it is the first human-AI interaction.

Towards the end, we see Ares and Qurroa have a meetup. Ares then goes on to explore after gaining its place in the real human world. He contains two photographs of Qurroa from different timelines. This means that he knows about her existence and might be interested in her.

Will there be a sequel to Tron: Ares?

The makers of Tron: Ares have not announced any follow-up, as of yet, but the film's post-credit scene drops a hint for the future. Julian Dillinger (played by Evan Peters) is the main villain of this story, who lets Athena loose into the world. This also leads to his mother's demise, after which he takes refuge inside the Grid. There, he comes across a colorful disc that also works as a hat-tip to the first Tron film, where Stark had a similar suit. This disc transforms into a large armor around his body.

With this action, Julian takes over his grandfather Ed Dillinger's role in full capacity. A full circle moment with a direct nod to the original 1982 film, and fulfilling his character arc, Julian finally proves his worth in the narrative. If a sequel to Tron: Ares were to take place, we could maybe expect Julian to return as a more threatening villain. The film cuts back to credits when Julian lets out a menacing scream.

The sequel to Tron: Ares also opens up the potential to explore more in regards to Quorra, who was programmed to be more interested in things like art.

Jesse Wigutow has written the story and has co-written the screenplay with David DiGilio. The film is backed by Jared Leto, Justin Springer, Sean Bailey, Emma Ludbrook, and Steven Lisberger. Here is a list of its cast members:

Jared Leto as Ares
Selene Yun as Tess Kim
Greta Lee as Eve Kim
Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger
Sarah Desjardins as Erin
Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena
Hasan Minhaj as Ajay Singh
Cameron Monaghan as Caius
Arturo Castro as Seth Flores
Gillian Anderson as Elisabeth Dillinger
Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn

The franchise began with Tron, which was released in 1982. The film was directed by Steven Lisberger, while Donald Kushner was the producer. Its sequel came out nearly three decades later in 2010 and was titled Tron: Legacy.