Even though the reception to TRON Legacy was mixed, there’s still a vocal contingent of fans who want to return to the grid with yet another sequel in the Disney sci-fi franchise. Even though development on a third movie has been stagnant, we recently learned there was a TRON series in development for Disney+, but it was scrapped before it was ever announced. Many are wondering if TRON has been shut down for good, but TRON Legacy director Joseph Kosinski isn’t so hopeless.

Joseph Kosinski recently talked to ComicBook.com about the state of the TRON franchise and the possibility of seeing TRON 3 sometime in the future. He knows the franchise has staying power, and there will always be a desire to return to the grid. Kosinski said:

“There’s always been an interest since Legacy [for a sequel]. There’s always been talk and murmuring of doing another and continuing the story. I was in China a few years ago and saw them building the TRON ride in Shanghai, which, apparently, is pretty amazing, I would love to experience that at some point. I think it’s still a nice jewel in the crown of Disney IP and I think there are fans and people petitioning and pushing to continue it inside the halls of Disney.”

However, the director thinks it will take the right time and circumstances in order for it to come together again. He continued:

“Like anything, it just needs the right confluence of … it’s all about timing and the right elements and everything’s got to come together for a movie to happen. I think it’s possible and I think it’s worthy of it. I think there’s enough ideas in the franchise, and the fact that it is so unique and nothing else looks or sounds like it, that TRON story. There is, I think, a future for the franchise and I hope they keep making them.”

TRON Legacy arrived nearly 30 years after the original TRON. Even though some critics say the story left something to be desired, TRON Legacy was innovative in the same way that the original was, bringing state-of-the-art visual effects, including a de-aged Jeff Bridges (even though the effects haven’t aged very well in the 10 years since). Plus, the film’s soundtrack is a cornerstone of phenomenal scores, thanks to the techno sensibilities of Daft Punk. And Kosinski thinks whenever TRON 3 comes together, it has to do the same thing. He said:

“Whenever a TRON comes out, it needs to push the envelope in some way, or in every way. That’s a fundamental requirement of a TRON movie, is it needs to be ambitious on a filmmaking level and hopefully on a narrative level, and the ideas behind it. [Director] Steven Lisberger’s ideas for the first movie were so ahead of their time. I think it’s imperative that that be a part of any TRON movie. I don’t ever see TRON being something where you pump one out every two years. You just can’t. They’re too hard to make. It’s got to be a passion project and it’s got to really be reaching for something different and innovative and ambitious, because that’s in the DNA of it.”

It took 28 years to get TRON Legacy off the ground after TRON debuted all the way back in 1982. It may not have been ambitious on a narrative level, but it certainly brought new life to the Disney classic. Maybe we’ll get the TRON sequel we deserve in 2038 and it’ll have something to do with a computer virus called COBIT-19 that forces all programs into the real world. Just kidding. Please, don’t do that.

Joseph Kosinski’s next movie is Top Gun: Maverick, which is now slated to arrive on December 23, 2020.