Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson also took the stage at Hall H.

Jeff Bridges arrives to wild applause for Tron: Ares Comic-Con planel: ‘The Grid abides’

Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson also took the stage at Hall H.

By Wesley Stenzel

Published on July 25, 2025 09:42PM EDT

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Jeff Bridges at the 'Tron: Ares' panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Credit:

Amy Sussman/Getty

The Dude brought the Grid to San Diego Comic-Con 2025.

Jeff Bridges walked out to wild applause at the convention panel for *Tron: Ares* on Friday, riffing on his iconic line from *The Big Lebowski* after being teed up by host Kevin Smith. "The Grid abides," he declared to an adoring crowd.

*Ares* marks Bridges' first movie performance since 2018's *Bad Times at the El Royale*, and his second screen performance (following FX's *The Old Man*) since he was diagnosed with cancer in 2020. He famously starred as computer programmer Kevin Flynn in the original *Tron*, which hit theaters in 1982.

The rest of the starry *Ares* cast — Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson — joined the 75-year-old Oscar winner on stage. So did Steven Lisberger, the creator of *Tron*, and *Ares* director Joachim Rønning.* *

Jeff Bridges in 'Tron: Aries'.

Before the cast came out on stage, the Hall H audience was treated to a clip from the film, which showed Bridges from the original *Tron* playing an arcade game, along with other SFX shots from the groundbreaking movie. Scenes from *Ares* then played, including futuristic helicopters, new footage, and a speech from Peters that was featured in a recent trailer.

"It's not so much that *Tron* was ahead of its time," Lisberger told the crowd, "it's that everyone else was late."

Bridges later confided that Leto wanted to be called by his character's name, Ares, on set, and that he tried to get familiar with him, calling him "Ar." To which Leto, who professed to being a big fan of Bridges', replied, "You can call me whatever you want."**

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"I just wanted to ride a light cycle," added Lee, referring to the franchise's signature neon bikes.

Bridges went on to poke fun at Leto's infamous Method acting approach, calling him "a thesbo," which drew laughs from the audience.

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After the banter, more footage from the upcoming film was shown, including a light cycle chase scene.**

The original *Tron* pioneered CGI special effects four decades ago, and eventually inspired the 2010 sequel *Tron: Legacy*. The franchise has also spawned the animated series *Tron: Uprising*; multiple Disney Parks rides; and a number of video games, comics, and novels.

Jeff Bridges arrives at the 'Tron: Ares' panel at San Diego Comic-Con.

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

While the previous two *Tron* movies primarily followed human characters who are sucked into the world of the titular video game, *Tron: Ares* will see AI beings invade the real world for the first time.

In* *theaters Oct. 10, *Tron: Ares* also boasts a soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails, following in the footsteps of *Legacy*'s electrifying Daft Punk score.

***Check out more of EW's coverage from San Diego Comic-Con 2025.***

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Source: “AOL Movies”