Zap2It.com, via MSN, is reporting that the Tron franchise will be continuing as an animated television miniseries. Tron: Uprising will be a 10-part series written by Tron: Legacy‘s screenwriters Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. Uprising will take place between the events of the original Tron (1982) and this year’s Legacy.
Horowitz says “we’re treating it very seriously. This animated show will take place from when Flynn is in a safe house. It’s from when Clu takes over the grid to before when Sam comes in. So if you were wondering what was the grid like before that, then watch the show. We hesitate to tell too much just yet, but it will fill in the blanks of some things, and also explore some new areas as well.” The series will add depth and fill in backstory for some of the film’s more minor characters, and provide explanation for some story choices. “Did we have time to do the Bartik story?” Horowitz remembers. “No. But now maybe the Bartik story is in the animated series—you know, he’s got a huge scar on his face. I want to know how he got that scar. We couldn’t sit down and write that there’s a guy with a scar on his face without knowing what the scar was. So we hope it adds to the depth of the movie. Our intention is to try and make something that is more than just, let’s go get something. We treat Tron very, very seriously, and as writers we try to have a reason and a world for everything, and not all of it gets to be shown, because in this particular movie, we only had two hours.”
Horowitz also confirmed that Bruce Boxleitner (who played Tron in both films) has signed on for the miniseries, as well as Elijah Wood, Linda Moore, Paul Reubens, and Lance Henriksen.