Joseph Kosinski seems open to the idea of making a third 'TRON' film

Credit: Walt Disney Company

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Joseph Kosinski is a promising filmmaker, and it certainly appears that he'll have plenty of chances to prove himself in the coming years.  His science-fiction thriller "Oblivion" opens in the spring, and the first trailer, featuring Tom Cruise, just made its appearance online last week.

That film was co-written by Michael Arndt, who also wrote "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Toy Story 3" and who quite notably was hired to write "Star Wars - Episode VII," so perhaps it was only natural that there would be some rumors about Kosinski being the likely candidate to direct that film.  After all, pretty much anyone who's ever directed anything involving special effects is going to be rumored to be the director by the time Disney and Lucasfilm eventually make their official announcement, and Kosinski is already in Disney's good graces.

Kosinski denies that he's in the mix, though, and says the mere thought is flattering.  "For me, I feel like, between 'TRON' and 'Oblivion,' I've gotten to fulfill my 'Star Wars' fantasies, in a way."  I think he did make an astute point when asked what he hopes to see from "Episode VII," though.  "Hopefull it will look and be something that no one's expecting as the first ones were when they came out in the late '70s. It's a tricky challenge, but they've got really good people on it."

There is some new progress on a sequel to "TRON: Legacy," though.  They just hired Jesse Wigutow to write it, and Garrett Hedlund has said he'd be excited to do it again.  Kosinski sounds like a man who is aware that sequels can often be a creative trap, especially when speaking to Collider about what to expect from a "TRON 3":

"I’ve said it would have to be our Empire Strikes Back for me to come back and for me to pull the whole team back together.  I think we do have that idea.  We do have the idea that feels big and really blows the doors off this franchise.  It’s hinted at promises of something for two movies now, for thirty years, so it’s time to deliver on that.  But the script’s got to be at a level that makes it worth going back for, because it’s a lot of work to make a movie like this and it’s a multi-year project.  So we’ve got our writer Jesse Wigutow on it right now writing, and fingers crossed if it all comes together, as we hope it will, there could be another Tron in the next few years, and it’s going to be awesome.”

Based on the hints Kosinski has dropped about the sequel (and he's been very careful not to give much away), I'd bet that this next film will be about the world of TRON spilling into our real world, which would require a big evolution in the look of everything that's been designed for the first two films.  It certainly feels like that's the most potent story thread that they'e introduced so far.

Now let's see if Cillian Murphy ends up being called back to play the next generation of Sarks.  That was why they shoehorned him into "Legacy" at the last minute, right?

"Oblivion" will be in theaters April 19, 2013.

Drew McWeeny
Film Editor

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A respected critic and commentator for fifteen years, Drew McWeeny helped create the online film community as "Moriarty" at Ain't It Cool News, and now proudly leads two budding Film Nerds in their ongoing movie education.