In the film Tron – Legacy (2010), Cillian Murphy has a brief cameo as Edward Dillinger Jr., who leads ENCOM’s software design team and is the son of Ed Dillinger, the former senior executive vice president of ENCOM, portrayed by David Warner in the original 1982 movie. Unfortunately, Murphy’s character does not appear in Tron – Ares (2025).
Recently, Phil Saunders shared new concept art on Instagram that showcases a glimpse of Cillian Murphy’s abandoned comeback for Tron – Ares, featuring his character in the legendary Sark costume.
In his post, Phil Saunders shares, “One of the initial requests from Production Designer Darren Gilford was for me to create a quick illustration of Cillian Murphy as the new Sark. I believe this was intended to entice him back to the production to take on his role as the junior Dillinger.”
They express, “Considering his absence from the film, I sincerely hope this illustration isn’t the cause of his passing! Moebius has always been a significant inspiration to me (and I’ve never encountered a more kind and gracious person) so I was excited to create a variation of his legendary costume. As is my custom, I sketch out several options and feel delighted when my preferred choice is chosen.”
Cillian Murphy was not brought back for Tron – Ares as director Joachim Rønning considered his character, Edward Dillinger Jr., to be superfluous to the sequel’s fresh narrative, which aims to tell a new story instead of leaning on nostalgia-based fan service.
Rønning also mentioned that certain actors opted not to reprise their roles. As per Joachim Ronning, “These elements are not merely artistic decisions; at times, actors may choose to step away. There are various perspectives on this, yet I believe the narrative reached a point where we felt the old characters no longer needed to be the focus. Our aim was to steer this in a fresh direction while simultaneously respecting the universe we inhabit.”
Although Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of Edward Dillinger Jr. is absent in the most recent sequel, Evan Peters takes on the role of Julian Dillinger, the grandson of Ed Dillinger. He is now the CEO of Dillinger Systems and, by the conclusion of Tron – Ares, he ultimately dons the Sark suit.
Directed by Joachim Rønning and penned by Jesse Wigutow, Tron – Ares centers around a sophisticated artificial intelligence program that hails from the Grid. This program is dispatched from the digital realm into the physical world on a perilous mission, signifying humanity’s inaugural interaction with Artificial Intelligence entities.
The cast of Tron – Ares features notable talents such as Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges, who returns to his iconic role as Kevin Flynn from the original two films.