Few bands could translate the neon chaos of the Grid into sound — but Nine Inch Nails have stepped in to do exactly that for “Tron: Ares.” Their brand-new soundtrack dropped today via Interscope Records, a 24-track dive into menace, momentum, and synthetic soul. It’s the first time Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have composed a film score under the Nine Inch Nails name, and their first new original music in five years.
READ MORE: ‘Tron: Ares’: Nine Inch Nails Will Write The Music For This Jared Leto-Starring Threequel
“Tron: Ares,” the third chapter in Disney’s “Tron” universe, hits U.S. theaters on October 10, 2025. Directed by Joachim Rønning and starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Gillian Anderson and Jeff Bridges, the movie follows a Program called Ares (Leto), who is sent from the digital world into the real one, thrusting humanity into its first true encounter with A.I. beings.
Reznor and Ross aren’t newcomers to scoring prestige. Together they’ve won two Academy Awards (for “The Social Network” in 2010 and “Soul” in 2020) and been nominated for three more. They also boast multiple Golden Globes, Grammys, and an Emmy.
In recent years, the duo has kept busy with a string of acclaimed projects, especially with director Luca Guadagnino and David Fincher. They scored “Bones and All” (2022), “Challengers” (2024) — which earned them a Golden Globe — and “Queer” (2024). They also recently collaborated with Fincher for the fifth time on “The Killer” (2023), extending a partnership that began with “The Social Network” and continued through “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Gone Girl,” and “Mank.” That same year, they also scored “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” showcasing their range from Fincher’s brutal thriller tension to animated cinema’s anarchic, neon-tinged energy.
With “Tron: Ares,” though, the pair go full NIN: no orchestra, no sweeping strings — instead an album built entirely of synths, texture, distortion, and dark, driving momentum. It’s raw, intense, and throws out the cinematic rulebook.
Here’s the full tracklist for the “Tron: Ares Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”:
- INIT
- FORKED REALITY
- AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE (features vocals)
- 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” releases in U.S. theaters on October 10, 2025.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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