The "TRON: Ares" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, featuring an entirely new body of music by the legendary industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, dropped today via Interscope Records. The album arrives ahead of Disney's highly anticipated film TRON: Ares, the third installment in the studio's groundbreaking sci-fi saga, which opens in U.S. theaters on October 10, 2025.
A fusion of analog grit and digital unease, the soundtrack has already been described as one of Nine Inch Nails' most electrifying releases to date. It hums with menace, melancholy, and a relentless sense of propulsion, embodying the very essence of TRON's cybernetic universe. Notably, this marks the first official Nine Inch Nails film score, though bandmates Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are no strangers to cinema. As composers under their own names, they've become some of the most celebrated figures in modern film music, winning two Academy Awards®, three Golden Globes®, an Emmy®, and a GRAMMY® for projects ranging from The Social Network to Soul.
Unlike those earlier scores, TRON: Ares unleashes the full weight of Nine Inch Nails' signature sound. The music is raw, blistering, and unflinchingly experimental, favoring pulsating synths, distorted electronic textures, and spectral vocals over traditional orchestration. There isn't a single note of symphonic scoring-every sound is electronic, engineered to feel both human and alien at once. The result is a soundtrack that not only complements the digital-meets-physical narrative of TRON: Ares but also redefines what a blockbuster film score can be.
The tracklist spans more than two dozen cuts, from ominous mood-setters like "Forked Reality" and "Target Identified" to vocal-driven standouts such as "As Alive As You Need Me To Be" (the album's first single) and "Who Wants to Live Forever?". Each piece contributes to a sonic world of paranoia, rebellion, and fragile beauty. Fans of Nine Inch Nails' earlier work will hear echoes of their classic industrial edge, while also witnessing a bold expansion into uncharted cinematic territory.
"TRON: Ares" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Track List
INIT
FORKED REALITY
AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE (features vocals, first single released - Watch Here)
ECHOES
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
IN THE IMAGE OF
I KNOW YOU CAN FEEL IT (features vocals)
PERMANENCE
INFILTRATOR
100% EXPENDABLE
STILL REMAINS
WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER? (features vocals)
BUILDING BETTER WORLDS
TARGET IDENTIFIED
DAEMONIZE
EMPATHETIC RESPONSE
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
A QUESTION OF TRUST
GHOST IN THE MACHINE
NO GOING BACK
NEMESIS
NEW DIRECTIVE
OUT IN THE WORLD
SHADOW OVER ME
TRON: Ares continues Disney's visionary sci-fi saga by pushing the boundary between the virtual and the real. The story follows Ares, a highly sophisticated program that is sent from the digital grid into the physical world. Tasked with a dangerous mission, Ares becomes humanity's first point of contact with artificial intelligence beings, sparking a clash of trust, fear, and survival.
The film is directed by Joachim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) and boasts a star-studded ensemble led by Jared Leto as Ares. He is joined by Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, with acclaimed performers Gillian Anderson and franchise veteran Jeff Bridges rounding out the cast.
Produced by Sean Bailey, Jared Leto, Emma Ludbrook, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, and Steven Lisberger (creator of the original TRON), the film also features Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as executive producers, ensuring their music is deeply embedded into the DNA of the story. The screenplay is written by Jesse Wigutow, from a story by David DiGilio and Wigutow, based on characters created by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird.
With its fusion of cutting-edge visuals, daring storytelling, and Nine Inch Nails' uncompromising sonic vision, TRON: Ares promises to be a landmark entry in Disney's sci-fi canon.
Disney's TRON: Ares opens in U.S. theaters on October 10, 2025.