With how many crossovers there are in Fortnite now, with DC's The Flash being the latest to be confirmed, it's difficult to be surprised anymore whenever a new one is announced or teased. That said, what's looking to be the next crossover has appeared to legitimately surprise fans for how unexpected it is: Tron.
Suspicions of a Tron skin being added to Fortnite first began after the latest datamine, courtesy of dataminer and frequent Fortnite leaker HYPEX. They shared on Twitter an image of a new portal, which always herald a new guest star for the game, codenamed Mainframe. The visual aesthetics are blatantly reminiscent of the Tron movies, specifically the 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy, and one of the Light Cycles can even be faintly spotted. Even the accompanying audio sounds like it was ripped from the movies.
And as if that wasn't blatant enough, Epic Games shared another one of its teaser transmissions, which always provide hints for the next guest star. The audio log is of Jonesy dusting off an old computer before apparently being transported away, which brings to mind how characters would enter the world of Tron, known as The Grid.
Not only that, but the log has the label MCP-82. Anyone familiar with the original movie will recognize those letters, as the MCP aka the Master Control Program was the major antagonist. The 82 is no doubt a reference to the original movie's release year of 1982. And lastly, the target's description reads "They fight for the users," an obvious reference to Tron's line of "I fight for the users."
While Tron fans are no doubt ecstatic to see this oft-overlooked franchise making an appearance in one of the most popular video games in the world, it's somewhat bizarre that Epic picked it in the first place. Tron as a character hardly fits with the current season's hunter theme, which is why characters like the Mandalorian and the Predator have been included.
There also hasn't been any new Tron media in years, though relevancy has rarely been a factor for guest stars' inclusion. Plus, a third movie is in development and will star Jared Leto, with Garth Davis as the director.
As for the hunter theme, while Tron has to be the character chosen to represent his series, maybe he will come with a second skin that turns him into Rinzler. In Tron: Legacy, Rinzler served as an enforcer for the main villain, which does match up with the hunter theme somewhat.
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