The early concept of Cillian Murphy’s Ed Dillinger Jr. as Sark in Tron: Ares has been revealed by concept designer Phil Saunders. Note: This was created before the role was rewritten as Julian Dillinger.
The official concept art revealed that Saunders confirmed Murphy would reprise his role as Ed Dillinger Jr., the son of the classic villain from the 1982 film. It confirms the character would take on the mantle of Sark, the digital military command program, continuing his father’s legacy.
Edward Dillinger, Jr., son of former ENCOM executive Edward Dillinger, joined the company’s board in 2010 and oversaw development of ENCOM OS-12 (formerly Flynn OS).
On Instagram, Saunders shared the images and said, “One of the first things Production Designer Darren Gilford asked me to tackle on Tron: Legacy was a quick illustration of Cillian Murphy as the new Sark. I think it was meant to lure him to the production to reprise his role as the junior Dillinger.”
He added, “Given his absence from the movie, I hope this illo isn’t the reason he passed! As Moebius has always been a huge hero of mine (and a kinder, more gracious soul I’ve never met), I was thrilled to do a variation on his iconic costume. As usual, I roughed out a few variations and was pleased when my favorite was selected.”
The film, directed by Joachim Rønning, is the third installment in the Tron series and a sequel to 2010’s Tron: Legacy. It stars Jared Leto as Ares, Greta Lee as Eve Kim, Miru Kim as young Eve Kim, Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger, Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena, Arturo Castro as Seth Flores, Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, Cameron Monaghan as Caius, Gillian Anderson as Elisabeth Dillinger, Hasan Minhaj as Ajay Singh, Sarah Desjardins as Erin, Aaron Paul Stewart as Cyber Security Pete, Roger Cross as Cross, Roark Critchlow as General McGrath, Katharine Isabelle as Marcia Lee Hadlow, Gary Vaynerchuk as Stuart Roche, and Kwesi Ameyaw as Silvio.
Tron: Ares follows a highly sophisticated program named Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with AI beings.
Tron: Ares was released in theaters in the United States on October 10, 2025, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Although the film grossed $123.7 million worldwide against a production budget of $180–220 million, it is considered a box office flop.
Tron: Ares is now available to stream on Disney+.
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