#John Galliano is one of the most brilliant — and most troubling — figures in modern fashion. Earlier this year,…
By K Futur TREИDNSETTERSIt’s not every day that Walt Disney World and Nine Inch Nails cross paths. Yet for a limited time, visitors to the Magic Kingdom will find themselves hurtling through Tomorrowland to the pounding industrial sounds of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. In a move that has left both theme park fans and music lovers buzzing, Disney has announced that Tron Lightcycle Run will receive a temporary makeover inspired by the upcoming film Tron: Ares — complete with a brand-new Nine Inch Nails soundtrack.
The high-speed roller coaster, which opened in Tomorrowland in 2023, is already one of the park’s most futuristic attractions. Now, beginning 15 September, it will incorporate striking red visuals and the grit of Nine Inch Nails’ Tron: Ares score. The limited-time overlay coincides with the marketing push for the third instalment in Disney’s cult sci-fi franchise, due in cinemas on 10 October 2025.
Disney has been keen to stress that this isn’t just a light cosmetic change. The ride will now pulse with the industrial atmosphere of Reznor and Ross’s score, which marks the first time a film soundtrack has been released under the Nine Inch Nails name. For fans, this is a fascinating convergence: the uncompromising edge of NIN woven into the family-friendly realm of Disney.
The Tron: Ares soundtrack itself is set for release on 19 September and features 24 brand-new tracks, ranging from sprawling electronic soundscapes to vocal-driven cuts. It follows the lead single As Alive as You Need Me to Be, which offered a taste of the darker, heavier textures Reznor and Ross have embraced for this project. While the duo are no strangers to scoring films — their work on The Social Network and Gone Girl earned critical acclaim — this marks a deliberate decision to lean into the Nine Inch Nails identity. As Reznor explained earlier this year: “It’s going to be a little grittier … we feel like we can play by different rules.”
For Disney, the collaboration makes perfect sense. Tron has always embraced a boundary-pushing aesthetic, with Tron: Legacy famously pairing its neon visuals with a Daft Punk soundtrack. This time, the baton passes from French EDM to American industrial rock, offering fans something entirely fresh. The imposing red hues and harder-edged audio will reimagine Lightcycle Run as an experience that mirrors the darker narrative of Tron: Ares, in which a powerful AI escapes the digital grid to confront the real world.
Meanwhile, Nine Inch Nails themselves remain in the spotlight. The band are wrapping up their Peel It Back 2025 tour, which saw the return of drummer Josh Freese after a 17-year absence. His comeback, described by Freese as “absolutely unforgettable”, has reignited the group’s live energy just as they unveil their most high-profile mainstream project in years.
Whether you’re a die-hard NIN devotee or a Disney park enthusiast, the fusion of these two worlds is a spectacle not to be missed. How long the Tron: Ares overlay will last remains unclear — but for those heading to Orlando this autumn, there may never be a better time to queue up for Lightcycle Run.
