Garrett Hedlund Cast as the Lead in Disney’s Tron 2.0

January 6, 2009
by Alex Billington

Apparently Olivia Wilde didn’t have the only Tron 2.0 news to report today. 24-year-old actor Garrett Hedlund has been cast as the lead in the highly anticipated sequel. Hedlund landed the role over other more notable actors like Ryan Gosling, Chris Pine, and Cloverfield’s Michael Stahl-David (who really needs another lead role). Additionally, the Hollywood Reporter is claiming that the title is now officially just Tron, without any numbers. Lastly, while Hedlund’s character’s name wasn’t revealed, it seems we might finally have an idea of what the sequel will be about based on the character description they gave.

Hedlund’s character is described as “a man who finds himself pulled into the world of a computer [to retrace] the steps of a character from the original movie named Kevin Flynn.” In a previous article, we reported that the story would involve a programmer who “finds himself allied with the leader of a rebellion against a corrupt cyber-entity.” And those that have seen the teaser from Comic-Con know that Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Flynn, but at the end he acts out violently, killing another player. Maybe Flynn has become the “corrupt cyber-entity” somewhat like Mr. Smith in The Matrix and this new programmer (Neo?) is brought in to retrace Flynn’s steps and take him out (or remove the virus that is controlling him).

Obviously that plot concept is all based on pure speculation, but it sounds very reasonable. Why not model the triumphant return of a movie set inside of a computer on one of the greatest modern movies also set inside of a computer? Audiences also love darker stories and if the footage we saw is any indication, Tron 2.0 may end up being pretty dark. I haven’t recognized Hedlund in any of his previous roles (Troy, Friday Night Lights, Eragon, Death Sentence), but if Disney thinks he’s a good fit for a $150 million effects-intensive epic like this, then I’m in, too. Shooting is scheduled to start in the spring for release in 2011.

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