Third Tron Movie Already Underway? Wait to See How Tron Legacy Does, Fellas.

According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s generally reliable Heat Vision blog, Disney is already gearing up to make a sequel to Tron Legacy, and thus the third movie in a prospective Tron trilogy.

No details have been released because it is so early in the process. Notwithstanding the question of whether the movie will be a hit, other topics to ponder are whether the sequel will focus on spinoff characters or center on a new adventure set in the “Tron” world. Insiders have suggested that Kitsis and Horowitz are working on a way to round the story into a trilogy.

On the one hand: we’ve generally thought that the Tron Legacy stuff coming from the maw of Disney’s publicity juggernaut has been pretty cool. On the other: Isn’t this a little presumptive?

It’s not as though all movie series take things one step at a time, or should: Heck, there are already three Captain America movies lined up before we’ve seen even a trailer. But Cap’ has two things going for it vs. a Tron reboot: First, it’s a superhero movie, which means that lots of people will likely see it unless they put Bucky in it for some reason it’s terrible, and even that’s hardly enough to make it a sure box office failure. Second: Captain America is likely to be a much cheaper movie to make.

While there are no official budgets to be found for either movie, we have heard that Captain America star Chris Evans will be paid somewhere in the range of $300,000, and guesses for Tron Legacy‘s budget have floated around the $150 million mark (a far cry from the $300 million previously estimated.)

Not often remembered: despite breaking even and becoming a cult hit, the original Tron had a gross revenue of just $33 million. While Tron Legacy may get the benefits of a pummeling Disney marketing campaign, Gen-X nostalgia for the first Tron, and the lockstep admiration of the younger Urban Outfitters vintage graphic tee set, many of whom may not have seen the first, it just seems a little risky to bet the farm on not one but two unsure things.

(h/t Heat Vision)