Jeff Bridges returns for Tron: Ares, jokes his de-aged self looked like Bill Maher in Legacy

Even Jeff Bridges knows how strange Jeff Bridges looked de-aged in 2010's Tron: Legacy, but he's still not done with the franchise.

The Big Lebowski and The Old Man star confirmed during an interview on the Film Comment podcast, released last week, that he's coming back to film a part in the upcoming Tron: Ares. "It’s wild. Jared Leto is the star of this third one, and I’m really anxious to work with him, and I’ve admired his work," he said.

Disney confirmed Bridges' return for the new film by releasing a photo of him reading the script on set.

Bridges starred in 1982's Tron as Kevin Flynn, a programmer who's sucked inside a computer mainframe and forced to interact with other programs in an attempt to escape. The actor returned for 2010's Tron: Legacy, which followed Kevin's adult son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), who responds to a message from his long-lost dad by going into the virtual reality space known as the Grid. Bridges appeared in that sequel as both Kevin and, through the use of digital de-aging technology, Clu, Kevin's digi-double, and the corrupt program ruling the Grid.

“When I did Tron 2, Tron Legacy, we had to put all these dots on our face and all these kinds of things,” Bridges said. “And that’s [probably] all passé. I had to see myself as a young guy or as another character, but the same guy, but it was gonna be digitally created. I think it was [de-aging], but I didn’t like the way I looked in it. I felt like I looked more like Bill Maher than myself. It was kind of bizarre."

Tron: Ares, directed by Joachim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), follows a highly sophisticated program known as Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson also star in the cast.

Disney released a first look at Leto in the film back in February with word that filming had begun this past January.

“I’m excited to be part of the Tron franchise and bring this new film to fans around the world," Rønning said in a statement. "Tron: Ares builds upon the legacy of cutting-edge design, technology, and storytelling. Now more than ever, it feels like the right time to return to the Grid."

The film is on track to hit theaters sometime in 2025.

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