Corona | Coming Attractions

Disney has been amping the hype for its upcoming Tron Legacy movie for almost a year. With print, theatrical, gaming, collectible, clothing, theme park and social media marketing being done, it's clear to see that the company has re-considered the financial viability and consumer interest in this 28-year old franchise. With all of the Tron ancillary goods and marketing being done, for those of you born before the release of the original 1982 film it might be hard to believe that Tron bombed in theaters back then.

And now Disney has announced yet another new aspect of the growing Tron-tastic universe: an animated TV series, scheduled to premiere on Disnet FX in the summer of 2012. Titled Tron: Uprising, the show's setting is sandwiched in-between the aftermath of the original Tron movie, where Flynn and Tron brought down the despotic reign of the Master Control Program, and the new Tron Legacy, where Flynn's computer program Clu now rules The Grid with an iron fist. How things got to where they are in The Grid will be explained from the perspective of several new characters that will be introduced plus the return of The Grid's greatest game fighter, Tron.

Tron: Uprising will feature the voices of Elijah Wood as Beck; Emmanuelle Chiqui as Paige; Mandy Moore as Mara; Nate Corddry as Zed; Lance Henriksen as Tesler; Paul Reubens as Pavel; Reginald VelJohnson as Able; and Bruce Boxleitner as Tron himself.

Wood's character of Beck will be the primary protagonist. Described as a young program who becomes the unlikely leader of a new revolution, Beck is mentored by Tron and taught the best ways to battle his opponents. At this stage of the Tron universe's story control of The Grid has been seized by Clu, who uses his right-hand man General Tesler to maintain order over the programs. As Beck learns how to fight, he assumes the identity of Tron and becomes the new figurehead for resistence against the oppressive order of Clu and Tesler.

Tron Legacy screenwriters Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are executive producers on the new TV show along with co-producer Justin Springer and Samurai Jack creative producer Charlie Bean. Tron Uprising will be preceded by a 10-part microseries launching on Disney XD in fall 2011.

"Tron: Uprising is the culmination of an extraordinary collaboration between Disney Television Animation and our feature film studio," commented Gary Marsh, president of entertainment and chief creative officer for Disney Channels Worldwide. "And it is a perfect reflection of everything we want Disney XD to stand for - innovative storytelling, aspirational, heroic characters, and world class design."