Shanghai Disneyland’s TRON Lightcycle Power Run roller coaster may soon be making its way overseas to the major U.S. Disney parks (Disneyland and Walt Disney World). The future of the TRON movie franchise has been up in the air for the past several years, following the decent-but-unremarkable box office performance of TRON: Legacy in 2010. A Legacy followup titled TRON: Ascension, once again directed by Legacy‘s helmsman Joseph Kosinski, was seemingly on the brink of being green-lit at one point, but those plans have since fallen by the wayside.
Disney is now looking to (pardon the wording) reset the franchise, with a TRON movie reboot starring Jared Leto in the role of Ares. This, in turn, has reportedly inspired Disney executives to explore the possibility of incorporating a TRON attraction into the company’s stateside theme parks, in order to further ensure that the Mouse House’s second attempt at relaunching the TRON “brand” is more successful than Legacy was.
According to WDWNT, a team of individuals responsible for planning out the designs and budget of Disney park rides have been sent over to Shanghai Disneyland, to explore the possibility of bringing that park’s TRON Lightcycle Power Run attraction over to the U.S. Disney parks. The TRON Lightcycle ride could sit on either the (former) site of the Tomorrowland Speedway or the Galaxy Palace Theater in Walt Disney World. In California, the ride could take the place of either the former Innoventions building in Disneyland or the spot previously reserved for a Captain America roller coaster, at the adjacent Disney California Adventure park.
The addition of a TRON ride to Disney’s U.S. theme parks would be part of a much-larger effort by the company to incorporate new movie-themed rides and attractions at Disneyland and Disney World. The Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT attraction is now under-construction at Disney’s California Adventure park, while the massive Pandora: The World of Avatar attraction will soon be opening at Disney World. In addition, Star Wars Land rides and attractions are currently being assembled ahead of their openings at Disney parks in both California and Florida.
Based on footage of Shanghai Disneyland’s TRON Lightcycle Power Run (see the video above), the ride would certainly make for an exciting new addition to the greater Disney park experience, here in the States. Although Legacy received a lukewarm critical reception on the whole, few people have taken issue with the movie’s shiny vision of The Grid and the sci-fi/fantasy setting’s technology (the design of the Legacy Lightcycles in particular). As such, getting to experience what The Grid has to offer in the real world (in a manner of speaking) should be welcome news for most people.
NEXT: What the TRON Reboot Should Do Differently
We’ll bring you more TRON-related news as it comes our way.
