Dean Eilertson, our trusted friend and a Prop-Master extraordinaire, brought Supervixen into the orbit of Tron: Ares — an opportunity we embraced without hesitation. Working within the vision of Production Designer, Darren Gilford, whose iconic work on Tron: Legacy set a towering standard, was both a privilege and a responsibility. We stepped into this legacy with focus, ready to contribute to a world that’s long inspired us.
Tron has always held a special place for us — a childhood touchstone that shaped our earliest sense of what film design could achieve. To help craft Tron: Ares felt like a full-circle moment. Our role spanned prop design, including reimagining the legendary Tron Disc, various weapons, tech elements, and supporting wardrobe with Jared Leto’s helmet. Every piece was designed to honor the film’s sleek, electrified aesthetic, grounded in collaboration and driven by the story’s demands.
TRON:ARES
Scope of work
Creative Direction | Art Direction | Concept & Prop Design
Client
Disney
Date
October | 2025
The Project
Ares' Disc
Supervixen was entrusted with designing the signature Identity Disc for Ares, Dillinger’s lead character in Tron: Ares, a prop that demanded a fusion of prop and product design.
Working within the visionary framework of production designer Darren Gilford, we crafted a triangular disc — distinct from the circular designs of Dillinger’s soldiers — to embody Ares’ prominence. The disc needed to visually encapsulate Gilford’s Dillinger identity: hard surface, gloss black, subtle brass trimmings, and a villainous red light, striking a balance between cold corporate and future military.
Embedded electronics enabled dynamic lighting control, wirelessly linked to a production board, bringing the disc to life and enhancing Jared Leto’s performance.
Magnetic plates at each corner provided access to a control center, wirelessly linked to a production board that adjusted brightness on set.
For fans, we embedded subtle Recognizer motifs in each corner — an Easter egg honoring Tron’s legacy.
Designed to stand out in promotional imagery and serve the story’s stark, electric world, every detail was meticulously shaped to align with the film’s bold creative vision, making this a prop design job like no other for us.
Dillinger Disc
Building on the Ares Identity Disc, Supervixen moved on to the iconic circular disc for the Dillinger Soldier.
We crafted a design that mirrored the Ares Disc’s hard surface, gloss black finish, subtle brass trimmings, and menacing red light, ensuring a cohesive aesthetic that felt both cold corporate and future-military. The disc was designed to integrate seamlessly with the Dillinger Soldier’s existing costume, blending form and function to enhance the film’s electrified world.
Like Ares' disc, we used the advanced electronic lighting control, synced with production needs to bring the disc to life on set and elevate performance. Every detail was shaped to honor Tron’s heritage while serving the story’s bold vision, delivering a prop that was both functional and iconic, perfectly aligned with the production’s aesthetic goals.
Encom Disc
In Tron: Ares, every Dillinger has its Encom — a counterpoint of light to balance the dark. Supervixen was tasked with designing the Encom Disc, a prop that needed to embody the company’s distinct identity while standing tall in the Tron universe.
Drawing inspiration from Encom’s ethos, we crafted a disc with light, glossy hard surfaces and a striking blue light, a vivid contrast to Dillinger’s menacing red. The design retained the franchise’s iconic circular form, ensuring seamless integration with Encom’s costume aesthetic while pushing a sleek, futuristic edge.
Like the Master Control disc, advanced electronics powered the internal lighting system on set to bring the disc to life on camera, enhancing the storytelling. Every detail was meticulously shaped to honor Tron’s legacy and Encom’s role in the narrative, delivering a prop that was both visually captivating and functional, perfectly aligned with the film’s and Darren Gilford's bold, electrified vision.
Flynn's Disc
Revisiting the iconic Tron world of 1982 for Tron: Ares, we were asked to take a pass at Flynn's Identity Disc, elevating its fidelity for modern film-making resolutions while preserving its timeless essence. Our brief was clear: enhance, don’t alter. We crafted a disc that honored the original’s sleek, minimalist design, ensuring it seamlessly complemented Flynn’s wardrobe, guided by the vision of costume designer Christine Clark and concept art by Alan Villanueva.
With light, glossy surfaces and subtle lighting effects, the disc embodied the Tron legacy while meeting the demands of today’s high-definition storytelling. Every detail was shaped to integrate with the production’s aesthetic, delivering a prop that felt both nostalgic and cutting-edge, perfectly aligned with the film’s electrified narrative.
Dillinger Baton & Staff
Broadening our scope to Dillinger’s weaponry in Tron: Ares, we tackled the design of the Dillinger Baton and Staff — a dynamic, dual-stage prop that transitions from a compact baton to an extendable Bo Staff for combat.
Drawing on our experience with the multi-stage gun we designed in KIN, we embraced the challenge of crafting a piece that felt both believable and integral to the Tron universe. The design echoed Dillinger’s signature aesthetic of hard, glossy surfaces, subtle brass accents, and a menacing red glow — ensuring seamless integration with the soldiers’ arsenal.
Advanced mechanics enabled smooth transitions between stages, enhancing on-set functionality and storytelling impact. Every detail was meticulously shaped to align with the film’s electrified, futuristic vision, delivering a prop that was as practical as it was striking, reinforcing Dillinger’s cold, corporate-military presence in the narrative.
Dillinger Tools & Concepts
Supervixen’s work on Tron: Ares included designing a range of Dillinger tech, essential props that, while subtle on screen, demanded meticulous craft to enrich the film’s world.
We created a breaching tool to carve through enemy defenses, climbing axes for swift tactical maneuvers, and streamlined handcuffs, each tailored to fit Dillinger’s sleek, authoritarian style.
Early concepts explored a multi-tool baton, initially envisioned with hidden blades and multiple configurations for versatile combat, before it evolved into its final design.
Every piece was engineered to feel authentic within the Tron universe, balancing form and function to support the soldiers’ narrative role. Advanced mechanics ensured seamless operation on set, enhancing the storytelling. These understated designs strengthened Dillinger’s imposing presence, demonstrating that even minor props carry significant weight in a production of this scale.
Ares' Helmet and Collar Concepts
In this project, the Ares Helmet marked a thrilling intersection of props and wardrobe, which we loved.
An awesomely nuanced space in the Venn diagram of film design.
For this, we collaborated closely with the brilliant costume designer Christine Clark, whose vision shaped Ares’ striking aesthetic. Our goal was to craft a helmet that seamlessly fused with Ares’ existing costume. Hard, glossy surfaces, subtle brass accents, while pushing the Dillinger universe’s futuristic edge.
Though our proposed designs didn’t make the final film, the process was a highlight, blending technical precision with creative exploration. Working with Christine was an unexpected highlight, as we explored ways to balance form and function for Jared Leto’s character. We’re proud to share these designs, as we felt they had creative merit and we enjoyed this part of the project so much..
Visit Christine Clark’s website to see her incredible work — she deserves your love!
Dillinger Cesta
For Tron: Ares, Supervixen reimagined the Jai Alai Cesta, a beloved nod to the 1982 Tron’s ring games, where warriors like Flynn wielded these curved baskets to hurl energy discs in electrifying combat.
Though this sequence didn’t make the final film, we’re proud to showcase our design, crafted to honor fans and the franchise’s roots. Tasked with blending the cesta with Ares’ costume, we transformed the traditional wicker form into a sleek, reinforced extension, designed for fluid integration with Jared Leto’s suit.
This prop-wardrobe fusion demanded precision, ensuring the cesta balanced agility and visual impact while echoing Dillinger’s disciplined aesthetic. Working and collaborating with the awesome concept art from Alan Villanueva and the rest of the production creative team, we refined every contour to fit the Tron universe’s futuristic intensity.
The accompanying gallery captures our process, celebrating a design that, while unseen on screen, embodies our passion for Tron’s legacy and storytelling craft.
While we are sharing...
Speaking of showing work that didn't make it onto the final film.... Pick a disc, any disc!
The following gallery is an exploration of Identity Discs we created for Tron: Ares.
Some discs honored the franchise’s legacy with classic circular forms, rooted in the aesthetic of past Tron films, while others pushed boundaries with bold new shapes—hexagons, triangles, and even holographic extensions.
These concepts, though not all realized in the final film, reflect our commitment to blending tradition with innovation. Each design was crafted to feel authentic, enhancing the narrative’s futuristic world while meeting the production’s high standards.
The accompanying gallery showcases this journey, capturing the evolution of our ideas and the precision behind them. These discs, varied in form but unified in vision, hopefully embody the spirit of Tron’s ever-evolving legacy.
Plus we had a lot of fun exploring this.
The Encom Server Raid
In Tron: Ares, Dillinger’s hack of Encom’s server propels the narrative into the digital heart of the Encom world, and Supervixen was tasked with designing the pivotal server prop for this sequence.
Production required a structure that a camera could navigate through, immersing audiences in Encom’s virtual realm. We crafted a server that embodied Encom’s distinct identity—cooler tones of shimmering blues and silvers, evoking a pristine, high-tech domain in contrast to Dillinger’s stark palette.
Every element was tailored to enhance the storytelling, reflecting Encom’s innovative spirit while meeting the production’s rigorous demands. Collaborating closely with the creative team, we delivered a prop that not only served the narrative but also captured the essence of Tron’s digital frontier, bringing Encom’s world to vivid life.
Encom/Hamilton Watch
Finally, and for a bit of fun, we designed the Encom Watch for Eve Kim, played by Greta Lee.
For this, we collaborated with Hamilton Watches, a film sponsor, to craft a prop that felt custom-made within the Tron universe. Bit of a dream gig as we are watch nerds here at SV.
The brief called for a watch that embodied Encom’s sleek, futuristic identity — clean lines and luminous accents, while subtly incorporating the Hamilton logo for product placement.
Walking this fine line was a thrill, blending bold creativity with brand precision. We explored numerous iterations, from minimalist dials to intricate tech-inspired details, before landing on the final design. The accompanying gallery captures a series of designs, showcasing the phases that shaped a watch worthy of Encom’s legacy.
Every detail was crafted to enhance the narrative, merging style and story in true Tron fashion.
