This article was originally published on SFFGazette.com.
In TRON: Ares, the battle between tech giants Encom and Dillinger rages on, with both having discovered technology that can bring anything imagined in a computer into the real world for 29 minutes at a time.
Encom wants to use that tech to solve world hunger, while Dillinger is out to create invincible soldiers like Jared Leto's Ares. Much of the movie revolves around the hunt for the Permanence Code, which, as the name suggests, will allow these computer creations to exist in our world indefinitely.
It's in the possession of Encom CEO Eve Kim, leading to Julian Dillinger sending Ares and Athena to retrieve it in a story that plays out in both the real world and The Grid.
In an epic final battle, Ares manages to defeat Athena after discovering his humanity (having encountered fireflies, empathy, and, uh, Depeche Mode), and TRON: Ares ends with Kim still in possession of the Permanence Code. Dillinger's Grid is destroyed by a virus shared by Ares, which the villain discovers after fleeing there in fear of being framed for the death of his mother.
As for Ares—with the Permanence Code embedded inside him—he leaves Center City as a free "man" on a real motorcycle. We last see him looking at a photograph of TRON: Legacy's Quorra; she escaped The Grid in the 2010 movie, and, for reasons that have yet to be revealed, Ares is now seeking out his fellow program.
TRON: Ares is more Eve's story than his, though, and the final shot of the movie finds her standing on top of the Encom skyscraper, grabbing an orange from a tree she's created, an indication that she's one step closer to solving world hunger.
You can read a full breakdown of TRON: Ares' post-credits scene by clicking here.
TRON: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, 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.
The movie stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson. Joachim Rønning directs; producers are Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Leto, Emma Ludbrook and Steven Lisberger.
TRON: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), featuring all original music by Nine Inch Nails, will be released on September 19 via Interscope Records. The release marks the first-ever film score by the pioneering band, although bandmates Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have composed 20 scores under their own names, winning two Oscars, three Golden Globes, a GRAMMY and an Emmy in the process.
TRON: Ares is now playing in theaters.