Tron: Legacy is a 2010 American science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, released on December 16, 2010 in Australia and December 17, 2010 in North America and Europe. It is a sequel to the 1982 film Tron. Joseph Kosinski makes his feature film directorial debut with Tron: Legacy, while the previous film's director, Steven Lisberger, returns as a producer. Jeff Bridges reprises his roles as Kevin Flynn and Clu, while Bruce Boxleitner reprises his roles as Alan Bradley and Tron. Garrett Hedlund portrays Flynn's adult son, Sam. The other cast members include Olivia Wilde, Beau Garrett, Michael Sheen, and James Frain. The film's soundtrack was composed by the electronic music duo Daft Punk. Yates Whittle and Addison Teague were responsible for the film's sound editing, which was nominated for an Academy Award.
In 1989, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), an innovative software engineer and the CEO of ENCOM International, disappears. Twenty years later, his son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), who became ENCOM's controlling shareholder after his father's disappearance, takes little interest in the company besides an annual practical joke on the board of directors. Sam is visited by his father's friend and ENCOM executive Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), who urges Sam to investigate a mysterious page originating from Flynn's old arcade. While exploring the decrepit arcade, Sam discovers a concealed computer laboratory and unintentionally transports himself to the Grid, a virtual world inside the computer.
Sam is captured and taken to the game arena, where he is pitted against Rinzler, the champion of the games. During their duel, Rinzler notices that Sam is not a Program, but rather a User. Rinzler takes Sam before Clu, a digital copy of Kevin Flynn, who rules over the Grid. Clu nearly kills Sam in a Light Cycle match before Quorra (Olivia Wilde) rescues him. Taken to a distant, off-grid hideout in the "Outlands," Sam is reunited with his father.
Flynn explains that he had been working on a new, "perfect" system and had appointed Clu as its creator. After much work, Flynn discovered a new series of sentient "isomorphic algorithms" (ISOs), self-produced Programs that carried the potential to unlock mysteries in science, religion, and medicine. Clu considered these Programs to be an imperfection and, in keeping with his directive to "create the perfect system", betrayed Flynn and had the ISOs wiped out. Flynn also revealed that while he hid from Clu, who had ambitions to reach the real world, the portal back to the real world had closed, and he became a captive inside his own creation until Sam re-opened it from the outside.
Resolving to make it back to the real world where he would be able to delete Clu, Sam makes his way back onto The Grid to find a Program named Zuse, who he believes can provide safe passage to the portal. The End of Line Club owner, Castor (Michael Sheen), is revealed to be Zuse and, instead of helping Sam, he betrays him to Clu's guards. Though Flynn and Quorra arrive just in time to help Sam escape, Quorra is grievously wounded and Zuse gains possession of Flynn's identity disc. Knowing the disc works as a master key to The Grid, Zuse attempts to use it to negotiate with Clu, but Clu simply takes it and destroys the club. Flynn and Sam save the injured Quorra and stow away aboard a freighter heading towards the portal. While Flynn heals Quorra, he reveals her to be the last surviving ISO.
The three unexpectedly arrive at a station aboard a massive warship (similar in appearance to Sark's) and encounter Rinzler. As Quorra attempts to distract him, Flynn recognizes Rinzler as a reprogrammed Tron (who was believed to have been killed by Clu while defending Flynn). Elsewhere on the ship, Clu addresses his army, expressing his desire to enter the real world and "perfect" it. Sam saves Quorra from Rinzler and reclaims Flynn's disc. The trio then commandeer an aerial shuttle and escape, but they are pursued by Clu, his guards and Rinzler using Light Jets. Between Quorra's evasive flying and Sam manning the rear turret, the three manage to shoot down Clu's guards. As Rinzler moves to destroy the shuttle, he makes eye contact with Flynn and suddenly regains his true identity as Tron. Declaring: "I fight for the Users," Tron deliberately collides with Clu's Light Jet and sends the two Programs falling. Clu wrestles away Tron's spare baton and creates another Light Jet, flying off to the portal. Tron falls into the Sea of Simulation, where his armor reverts to its original blue color.
Sam, Flynn and Quorra finally reach the portal, only to find Clu blocking their path. After attempting to reason with Clu, Flynn sacrifices himself to end the impasse, pulling Clu toward him and causing the two to merge, while Sam and Quorra use Flynn's disc to travel through the portal back to the real world. Flynn and Clu merge causing a massive explosion.
Back in the basement of Flynn's arcade, Sam saves a backup of the Grid onto his flash drive. He then meets Alan and tells him that he will start working at ENCOM, and, as the controlling interest shareholder, he will name Alan chairman of the board. Quorra meets Sam outside, and the two take off on his motorcycle. The movie ends with Sam showing Quorra the sunrise she has longed to see.