Three weeks ago, our own eelyajekiM reported that Walt Disney Pictures had finally decided to pull the trigger on a second sequel to their 1982 cult sci-fi adventure Tron and was reportedly planning to film in Vancouver this Fall. Up until now, it’s been going by the rather generic handle Tron 3, but if a recent tweet from Production Weekly regarding the timeline of the planned shoot is to be taken as gospel, then the sequel could possibly be titled Tron: Ascension.

This is all happening despite the fact that 2010’s Tron: Legacy failed to perform to their massive, somewhat inflated and unrealistic expectations at the box office, though the 3D spectacular managed to gross $400 million worldwide against a $170 million production budget. Joseph Kosinski, who called the shots on Legacy, is returning to direct with a script penned by David DiGilio and Jesse Wigutow and his Legacy leading man Garrett Hedlund contracted for another go-around as heroic hacker Sam Flynn. There’s no word yet on whether Hedlund’s co-stars Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, and Bruce Boxleitner will also return.

Never let it be said that Disney doesn’t love them some geek-friendly movie franchises. In addition to owning the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, the mighty Mouse House has a few beloved properties of their very own and they love to exploit them in every way possible. I’ve been inside a Disney Store, so I have seen this with mine own peepers.

Given the magnitude of the effects work that is sure to be involved, it’s not inconceivable to expect Tron: Ascension (title subject to change) to hit theater screens late next year. In the meantime, if you’re curious about what direction the story for the sequel could take, then feel free to check out Tron: The Next Day, a short film produced for the Legacy Blu-ray that features the return of another face familiar to fans of the original Tron and hints strongly that there is still more to this universe than we have seen so far. I’ve embedded it here below.

Video: Tron: The Next Day

TRON The Next Day – Flynn Lives Revealed (TR3N)

[Source via Collider]