After 15 years, Tron: Ares has arrived, and if you were judging by the opening credits, you'd think one Cameron Monaghan had a substantial role. The actor's name sits front and center alongside Jared Leto and Gillian Anderson, creating the assumption he’s got a considerable presence in the blockbuster.
Sadly, this isn't the case, leaving some viewers bemused. As it turns out, Monaghan has exactly one small moment in the Tron threequel, with a single line of dialog. His screentime is broken up by him wearing a helmet as well, further obfuscating his role.
Viewers have been left confused and disappointed by this revelation. "He's barely in the movie. I saw his name in the opening credits and was curious how he would be used," posts Sean Chandler, a YouTuber, on X/Twitter. "Uhhhhh the weird part is that he's in the movie at all."
To make matters worse, footage of a young Monaghan at the premiere of Tron: Legacy in 2010 has surfaced. He's been a Tron advocate since an early age, and this might have been a dream project.
Monaghan gets a split-second appearance in one of the trailers, and a fan noticed the official TikTok is using an image of the actor from what appears to be a scene that’s been edited out of the picture. The rising consensus is that his original role now lies in unused footage on the editing bay, after reshoots and re-writes made Caius, his character, less necessary.
"I'm not mentally prepared to only see him for five seconds; I need to know how much was left on the cutting room floor," one fan writes. "I hate that we lost him but somehow kept Jared Leto," another adds.
Best known for his work in Gotham and the Star Wars Jedi games, this was comfortably one of the actor's biggest movie roles yet, and now it's more of a trivial footnote. A shame, but maybe we'll see more in deleted scenes or a director’s cut further down the line.
If you'd like to spend more time in the Grid, check out our breakdown of the Tron: Ares ending explained, or we've a list of the best Star Wars games if lightcycles aren't your thing.
