Cillian Murphy’s scrapped return in Tron: Ares has been revealed in new concept art.
In the 2010 film Tron: Legacy, Cillian Murphy briefly appears as Edward Dillinger Jr., the leader of ENCOM’s software designers and the son of a former ENCOM executive played by David Warner in the original 1982 Tron movie. However, Murphy did not reprise his role in the 2025 film Tron: Ares.
Recently, concept artist Phil Saunders posted artwork on Instagram showing what Cillian Murphy could have looked like returning for Tron: Ares. The art features his character wearing the classic Sark costume. You can see the artwork below.
I was reading a fascinating post by Phil Saunders about working on Tron: Legacy. He mentioned that one of the very first things the production designer, Darren Gilford, asked him to do was a quick sketch of Cillian Murphy as the new Sark. Apparently, the idea was to get Murphy interested in coming back to play a younger version of Dillinger!
He added, “Knowing he wasn’t in the film, I hope this illustration wasn’t the cause of him deciding not to participate! Moebius has always been a personal hero – and one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever met – so I was really excited to create my own take on his famous costume. I usually sketch out a few different options, and I’m always happy when the one I like best is chosen.”
Cillian Murphy wasn’t in Tron: Ares because the director, Joachim Rønning, felt his character, Edward Dillinger Jr., didn’t fit the story the sequel was trying to tell. The new film focuses on a fresh narrative and avoids simply bringing back familiar faces for fans. Rønning also mentioned that some other actors decided against returning for the film.
These decisions weren’t just about artistic choices; sometimes actors move on from projects. There are various reasons why this happens, but ultimately, we decided the story didn’t need to focus on the original characters anymore. We wanted to explore a new path for the series while still respecting the established world.
Even though Murphy didn’t appear in the newest Tron movie, Evan Peters plays Julian Dillinger, the head of Dillinger Systems. Julian is the grandson of Ed Dillinger, and at the end of Tron: Ares, he takes over as Sark.
Joachim Rønning directed Tron: Ares, written by Jesse Wigutow. The film centers on Tron, a highly advanced AI program from the digital world known as the Grid. He’s sent into the real world on a risky mission, representing humanity’s first contact with artificial intelligence beings.
The cast of ‘Tron: Ares’ features Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges, who is returning to play his role as Kevin Flynn from the original ‘Tron’ movies.
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2026-02-19 22:51