The Magic Kingdom is about to get a little more digitized thanks to Tron Lightcycle Run’s impending debut as part of everything new coming to Walt Disney World. While a soft opening is currently underway, April 4th marks the full startup sequence for anyone who wants to jump into the world of Tron.
Having already done so myself, I can say that Tron Lightcycle Run is worth the wait for thrill seekers of all sorts. However, as a massive fan of this cult favorite universe, I spotted an easter egg in the ride that has me asking some pretty big questions. So let's digitize ourselves into The Grid once more and discuss how one surprising cameo opened an entire can of programming worms.
Tron Lightcycle Run’s Massive Tron Legacy Easter Egg
As I was on hand during Walt Disney World’s “All The Disney Thrills” press event, riding this new attraction introduced me to some new people from the Disney Parks family. One such person was Steven Miller, the Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at Disney Parks, who has also been a mega fan of Tron since his childhood.
Geeking out together over this underrated franchise, Steven told me to look out for something in my next ride through; more specifically, he told me to look out for Rinzler (Bruce Boxleitner). This, naturally, caused my jaw to drop a little bit, especially when recalling Rinzler’s fate at the end of Tron: Legacy. But before I questioned it any further, I had to spot him for myself; and as you can see in the photo above, I totally did!
While standing in the impressive queue of Tron Lightcycle Run, you’ll be able to see the roster of Team Orange in full detail as you wait to battle them. Every so often, a random teammate’s stats will come up, showing facts like their ranking, how many wins/losses they’ve had and, of course, how many derezzes they’ve racked up. While I couldn’t capture Rinzler’s stats on this visit, I can at least say that his name is on the list of competitors, which puts one huge question on the table.
How In The Grid Is Rinzler Still Alive?
So how in the world is Rinzler still alive? The right-hand program to the evil CLU (Jeff Bridges), we met Rinzler in Tron: Legacy, and it was revealed that he was a reprogrammed version of none other than The Grid’s staunch protector, Tron. That’s pretty important, because the last time we see Rinzler/Tron is after he’s supposedly defeated CLU, flickering from orange to blue as he sinks into the Sea of Simulation.
Complicating matters further, it looks like when Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) wiped out CLU in his final sacrifice, the world of Tron: Legacy was somewhat reformatted. One huge question now leads to two follow-ups. On top of questioning why Rinzler is still walking around, as Tron Lightcycle Run is set in a post-Legacy time period, I was also left wondering whether the version of The Grid we saw in director Joseph Kosinski’s follow-up still exists to a certain extent. And, of course, whether or not Tron has reverted to his Rinzler programming or not is the second concern I had in mind.
Sam Flynn May Have Resurrected Rinzler For A Purpose
The story of Tron Lightcycle Run states that Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) has been following in his father’s footsteps. Opening portals onto The Grid in Shanghai Disneyland, as well as Orlando’s Magic Kingdom, the User hero of Tron: Legacy is sharing the digital frontier with visitors who take him up on the offer. In the case of this experience, riders are treated to a friendly, but competitive and brutal lightcycle race, with Rinzler racing as part of the opposing team. Normally, I’d see this as a dangerous prospect, and not exactly a welcome sign for the future.
However, I can only think of one reason Sam would resurrect his foe from Legacy: competition. Rinzler is a formidable foe, especially when you remember that he’s a brainwashed Tron, so Tron Lightcycle Run includes this baddie in its roster of opponents to up the stakes. How better to keep oneself sharpened as a digital combatant than to continuously study the moves of your opponent?
Sam Flynn more than likely has brought Rinzler back as a way to prepare for any further conflicts in the world of The Grid. Training with the deadliest warrior of this universe is a good strategy to keep everyone on their toes. Also, as riders of the Tron Lightcycle Run, being able to say you beat Rinzler is a pretty awesome feat. Even more thrilling is the potential this hypothesis has for the future of the Tron saga, as everything’s connected, and the consequences could be both good and bad.
What Effect Could This Have On Tron 3?
Evolution is something we’ve seen happen throughout the history of Tron, most notably in Tron: Legacy. Lifeforms have been created through spontaneous evolutions in the digital world, as seen in the 2010 legacyquel’s introduction of ISOs. Even CLU himself changed to become a dark mirror of Kevin Flynn’s ambitions, corrupting a pure purpose with a zeal that all but wiped out those emerging creations.
Since Rinzler is still in play, there’s no telling how his presence could shape the next Tron movie’s potential story. Could Tron actually still be alive, with Sam rescuing him and splitting Rinzler into a different entity? Is Rinzler’s existence what helps created the potential protagonist in what’s become known as Tron: Ares? Most importantly, if Tron 3 is borrowing concepts from the concept of Tron: Ascension, could Tron’s evil mirror image the key to an all out invasion of the human world?
Anything truly is possible, as no one would have expected to see this vicious program’s return any time soon. It’s also potentially true that Rinzler is merely an easter egg to Tron: Legacy that’s included to spice things up in the Tron Lightcycle Run queue. I’m willing to bet on the side of this surprise cameo meaning something, as Disney has shown time and again it loves to throw in references and ties to attractions into films, and vice versa.
We’ll have plenty of time to dig into what Tron Lightcycle Run has to offer the world, as it’s currently in a soft opening to Magic Kingdom guests until April 2nd. The attraction will open fully on April 4th, so keep your button pressing fingers warmed up, as Lightning Lane and virtual queue reservations are already as competitive as you’d think. In the meantime, you can revisit the entire Tron legacy of films and TV if you happen to have a Disney+ subscription. End of line.
