Jodie Turner-Smith, star of “Queen & Slim” and the upcoming “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte,” is plugging into the grid.
The British star is latest addition to the cast of Disney’s “Tron: Ares,” joining Jared Leto, Evan Peters and “Past Lives” star Greta Lee. Joachim Rønning (“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”) will direct the third “Tron” installment from a script by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne.
Leto will play Ares, the manifestation of a program that becomes sentient and crosses over into the human world, with Lee as a video game programmer and tech company CEO who aims to protect her world-changing technology. Additional plot details, including specifics of Turner-Smith’s role, are being kept under wraps. Production on the film is set for August (an actors strike notwithstanding).
Following her breakout performance in Universal’s “Queen & Slim,” Turner-Smith has delivered standout turns in A24’s “After Yang” opposite Colin Farrell, Amazon Studios’ “Without Remorse” starring Michael B. Jordan, and Peacock’s “The Independent” with Brian Cox, as well as major roles in Netflix’s “White Noise” and “Murder Mystery 2.”
Turner-Smith also starred as Anne Boleyn in Sony Pictures Television’s three-part mini-series, which initially aired on Channel 5 in the U.K. before debuting on AMC+ in the U.S. She was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her performance.
She’ll next be seen in “Bad Monkey,” appearing opposite Vince Vaughn in the Apple TV+ series based on Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 novel, and recently wrapped production on “Star Wars: The Acolyte” for Disney+.
Turner-Smith joins the “Tron” franchise as the long-running sci-fi adventure’s legacy continues. The original film, starring Jeff Bridges, debuted in 1982 and flopped at the box office despite its groundbreaking innovations in digital visual effects. Over time, “Tron” developed a cult following, leading to the 2010 sequel “Tron: Legacy,” starring Bridges, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde and helmed by Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) in his directorial debut.
Leto signed on to star in and produce the third “Tron” movie in 2017, with production officially getting on track in January 2023. Justin Springer, Jeffrey Silver and Emma Ludbrook are also producing.
Turner-Smith is represented by UTA, 111 Media, the Lede Company and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
