Bringing Back Bruce - Boxleitner on Tron: Uprising

He's very persistent, this Tron.

Fans of Tron may finally have their own equivalent to the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, as Disney XD’s Tron: Uprising explores some of the more action-packed moments between the movies, with a new hero named Beck (Elijah Wood) mentored by the exiled and thought-dead Tron. And this Tron is the real deal: our favorite neon-blue program is once again voiced by Bruce Boxleitner. We spoke to the actor about being Tron again, Babylon 5, Scarecrow and Mrs. King and his in-the-works steampunk project.

Nerdist News: Is the idea with the animated series that we’re ultimately going to build up to the fall of Tron into Rinzler the villain?

Bruce Boxleitner: I think we’re going to explain that, it’s a question that’s been asked, and asked, and asked, and I think they have a very clever way of doing it. But that’s as committed as I can say! (laughs) I don’t want to put any spoilers out!

NN: Will there be a third Tron movie, as far as you know?

BB: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I don’t know, that’s up to the business of it. And I think any of the criticisms have long gone by, I think people have pretty much said they liked it. They wanted something more, well, maybe, but they got a good Tron movie, Jeff was fantastic, and I think our two young heroes – that’s what’s important about it, in my mind’s eye, is that what’s important is this passing the torch. I think that’s significant, because it has, it’s moved on. Jeff and I are in our 60s, for God’s sakes – we can’t be running around doing all that stuff anymore! (laughs) I guess you can; I had a whole new body in Legacy. But I could never have done that stuff, so we did the motion captures, facial expressions and stuff like that. So I’m enthusiastic about it! Uprising is perfect for now; it’s keeping the real die-hards, the hard-core fans I think happy somewhat.

NN: Given the way that programs age or don’t age, is there any point where you have to alternate between your current voice and maybe try to do your younger voice?

BB: You know, they also have ways of doing that now, technically. They can make some of these hip-hop singers who really couldn’t hold a note in an actual concert become actual recording stars; so yeah, I can do it a little bit. I put on a much deeper thing anyway as the older Tron. Charlie Bean keeps driving me to make him gruffer, gruffer, and to try to really get down in my lower register, which I can do. And he’s pushing that, relentlessly; he wants Tron to be a much more grizzled character inside, sort of scarred up.

Tron: Uprising’s newest episode,”Scars Part 1,” airs tonight on Disney XD. Check your local listings for showtimes. And for much more from Boxleitner on his major projects past, present and future, be sure to check out the full-length interview.

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