The first trailer for TRON: Ares dropped over the weekend, and fans are pretty excited about what it showed us. With awesome visuals and a clear tonal shift, director Joachim Rønning is setting the stage for a bold new chapter in the TRON universe, and it all starts with Jared Leto’s mysterious, villainous A.I., Ares.In a recent interview with Empire Online, Rønning revealed some new details about Ares, and it’s not what I was expecting from the story, but I like it. He said:“Not to be too clichéd, but I always thought about him a bit like Pinocchio. Ares wants to be a real boy. We talked a lot about him almost being an infant, discovering the world for the first time, and how we wanted the audience to see the world through his eyes.”It’s not just an origin story for a villain, it’s a coming-of-consciousness tale for an A.I. struggling with identity and humanity. Rønning emphasized that Ares’ perspective is key to the film’s emotional core.“The little things that we take for granted, or don’t see anymore. That was important,” he continued. “And then a bigger theme for the film is what it takes – what it means – to be human. Especially in this case, because he’s a computer program.”That blend of innocence and existential crisis could make Ares one of the more interesting characters in the TRON saga, especially as he ventures into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humanity’s first direct contact with a digital being from The Grid.Visually, Ares stands apart too. Fans who caught the trailer noticed something strange, his Identity Disc isn’t the classic round shape. It’s triangular. And yes, that was a deliberate choice.“It’s definitely a weapon. And it’s just a superior disc. When you’re a part of a franchise, you want to evolve the design, although I’m sure people are gonna freak out that it’s not round: ‘Oh no!’ But we have round discs as well. Take it easy.”TRON: Ares is shaping up to be more than just a visual upgrade to the franchise. If Rønning’s comments are anything to go by, we’re getting a thoughtful exploration of what happens when artificial intelligence looks in the mirror and starts asking the hard questions.