Can you believe it has been twenty-five years since the release of TRON? Since 1982, the sci-fi movie has turned into a cult classic for the geek and gamer sets, peaking (in my opinion) recently with an Adidas shoe design. And while the original is mostly appreciated for its ground-breaking yet dated special effects, Disney has decided to finally develop a TRON sequel, and it has just revealed its choice for director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is once again going with a first-timer, commercial director Joseph Kosinski. You may have heard that name before, though, because he's the guy also set to helm the remake of Logan's Run over at Warner Bros. Kosinski will be developing the sequel, in addition to directing; he will oversee the visuals and the script, which is being written by Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz of TV's Lost (they wrote, among their many, the mostly insignificant, but entertaining episodes "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" and "Exposé") . The story is, of course, being kept secret, but Kosinski is said to be working on a Light Cycle (see the photo) sequence that will serve as showcase of his vision for the movie. The sequel, which will be produced by original TRON director Steven Lisberger, along with Sean Bailey (Matchstick Men) and Brigham Taylor, has also been described as "the next chapter" of the storyline from the original.

The first thing to wonder is whether or not Jeff Bridges will be involved. Disney will probably want a younger star, but they should at least allow Bridges to appear in some capacity (they must also give a cameo to this guy). The next thing, which is actually more of a concern than a wonder, regards the special effects. CGI has come a long way since debuting in TRON -- some (me) would often say a long way for the worse -- and any modern effects would lack the kitsch appeal of the original. Sure, many movies these days have CGI that resembles video game visuals, but that's a bad thing. THR reports that many effects people are vying for the chance to work on this project and that most of them have been heavily inspired by the original. So, hopefully the chosen effects teams and personnel will be able to pay homage, retain the style and also somehow update the look of the first movie without turning out something too realistic or modern.

You'd think that after an epic geek classic like TRON, the writer/director would at least have a successful career for a number of years to come, if not many of his future years. However, after making the sci fi flick, Steven Lisberger's film work pretty much tanked. He followed the sci-fi classic with Hot Pursuit, and then directed one more -- Slipstream -- before slipping off the radar. After that, he wrote a TRON sequel, but that never got anywhere and things looked grim. He says that he became jaded until a fan perked him up. Variety is reporting that the writer/director took on the brainchild of IGN's Jessica Chobot, and penned a new futuristic film called Soul Code, which Reliant Pictures has just bought.

As the story goes, the two chatted at a TRON screening, and he was taken by her idea. He then wrote the script about a "tech pioneer who has perfected a way to download and transfer a person's memory. [The] script examines what happens when her memory is placed into a much younger woman's body," and now he gets to direct it as well. It's definitely got the makings for a cool story -- one to please both geek and non-geek crowds. I'm hoping they dip into not only the ramifications of memory transferral, but how much, if any, mannerisms and actions go with that. I'm thinking something like the Faith/Buffy switch. Lisberger says: "Jess is not a film person -- she was a fan -- and that was refreshing. She wasn't double-thinking what the audience wants; she was the audience." I'm hoping she's thought about the mannerisms (or that he has, for that matter), but what would you like to see with Steven's return to science fiction?