Remembering TRON the Movie, LEGO News and Reboot

Ever since TRON first lit up the big screen, it’s been a cult phenomenon with no sign of derezzing anytime soon. Over at Brickset.com, the LEGO TRON: Legacy Lightcycle set has been confirmed—and if it lights up, I’ll be on it faster than a pair of dueling lightcycles cutting across the Grid. News like this always gets me nostalgic, so this weekend, I’ll be revisiting both films and imagining the what if of a third installment. If you’re curious where the franchise stands now, see TRON at 40 — Legacy, Future Films & Fandom.

In some ways, the upcoming Reboot: The Guardian Code hinted at what could’ve been. The series launched on Netflix worldwide (March 30, 2018) with Canada getting it later via YTV. Rather than slam it for “ruining childhoods,” I decided to watch and see if it could hold its own—especially compared to Legacy’s ending, where Quorra escaped the Grid into the real world.

The original TRON inspired a generation of 80s kids and introduced mainstream audiences to video game culture, being one of the first films to use extensive computer-generated imagery. Interestingly, the games referenced in the film were already retro nods even then—tributes to the arcade greats that came before. For a full list of TRON video games themselves, see Every TRON Game Worth Playing.

Take Pong, for example. Created by Ralph Baer (now in the National Inventors Hall of Fame), it kicked off the coin-op revolution. In TRON, Flynn faces an accounting program in a high-stakes variation: miss the ball, and your platform starts disappearing. Not exactly a friendly match. The idea carried into Discs of TRON, letting players experience a similar thrill—minus the derezzing.

Then there’s Blockade, the 1976 top-down classic that inspired TRON’s lightcycle battles. The film amped up the concept to team-based chaos with walls of light and multiple opponents—something you can only escape from in the movies.

Flynn’s in-universe creation, Space Paranoids, feels like a twist on Computer Space, the first commercially sold arcade video game, courtesy of Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. In TRON, the goal isn’t to dodge enemies—it’s to blow Recognizers out of the sky. Thanks to dedicated fans, Space Paranoids can actually be played online today.

The film’s climax even borrows from Breakout. TRON literally smashes through MCP’s firewall one brick at a time, with a moving target and an active opponent adding tension. It’s a subtle nod to gaming history—Bushnell and Steve Bristow first released Breakout in 1976, later spawning 3D variants on consoles like the Atari Jaguar.

Atari also got in on the TRON action with Deadly Discs of TRON and Adventures of TRON. Neither became instant classics, but for collectors and nostalgia hunters, they’re a reminder of the franchise’s deep arcade roots.

I am called the Vintage Tempest, after all. And in part two, I’ll dive into TRON’s console-era titles—some still floating around eBay, others possibly awaiting a comeback with the Atari VCS.

Continue Exploring TRON:
• TRON at 40 — Legacy, Future Films & Fandom
• Every TRON Game Worth Playing
• The Classic Games That Inspired TRON (you are here)

Author: Ed Sum

I'm a freelance videographer and entertainment journalist (Absolute Underground Magazine, Two Hungry Blokes, and Otaku no Culture) with a wide range of interests. From archaeology to popular culture to paranormal studies, there's no stone unturned. Digging for the past and embracing "The Future" is my mantra. View all posts by Ed Sum