The long-gestating Tron: Ares has reportedly set its new filming start date, marking a significant step forward for the frequently delayed project. Originally planned as a direct follow-up to 2010’s Tron: Legacy, the project was later shelved by Disney in 2015, only to be later retooled to accommodate Jared Leto as its new leading man. Since Leto first signed on to the project in 2017, it has faced repeated delays, with its most recent setbacks caused by this year’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The strikes prompted it to miss its original intended start date, which had been planned for August.

According to a new report from Collider, the project is now looking to start back up again after the successful resolution to the strike action. According to the report, filming on Tron 3 is now planned to get underway in Vancouver following this year’s holiday season. Though no official release date has yet been announced, this timeline may still bode well for a rumored December 2025 release.

What Jared Leto’s Tron 3 Character Potentially Reveals About The Plot

Where 2010’s Tron: Legacy intentionally harkened back to the original 1982 film by featuring the son of Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn as its central character, Tron: Ares is unique in that it seems it will introduce an entirely new character as its protagonist. Though details about the third Tron movie and Leto’s role have been kept tightly under wraps, his character’s potential name, Ares, does provide some clues as to which direction the film could possibly take.

Related: Tron: Ares Title Meaning Could Reveal 3 Story Details

Named for the ancient Greek God of War, it is likely that Leto’s character will take the form of a program tasked with militaristic purposes. Moreover, the original plans for Tron: Ascension, the first iteration of the project planned by Legacy director Joseph Kosinski, would have been an “invasion movie” with characters from the digital realm of the Grid crossing over into real life. While those plans were later scrapped, it is still possible the underlying premise of an invading army of programs led by Ares may potentially seek to conquer the world of the users.

At this stage, however, theories such as this amount to little more than speculation until more concrete information is released. Hopefully, with filming now reportedly set to resume after the holidays, audiences can expect to begin hearing much more about Disney’s plans for Leto’s mysterious character in Tron: Ares and how they will connect with the previous movies in the franchise.

Source: Collider