Yori is a program written by Lora Baines and the romantic interest of Tron. She was in charge of the creation of digital simulations (such as the Solar Sailer) and involved in the operation of the digitizing laser.
Yori was among the programs used by Lora and Gibbs to perform their first successful digitization experiment. Shortly thereafter, she, along with several other programs, was appropriated by the MCP and forced to work on simulations. When Tron rescued her, she was low on power and appeared not to recognize him, giving him the same robotic status report she had given a guard moments earlier; but his entreaties roused her free will again and she hugged him with delight, saying she'd known he would be able to escape his captors. He explained that he needed information from his User, and she fled the simulation complex with him and led him to a secret back entrance to the I/O Tower.
Once inside, she was able to convince the Tower GuardianDumont to allow Tron to communicate with Alan-One, who provided them with information necessary to destroy the MCP. She then guided Tron to the Solar Sailer, which they stole and used to escape Sark's forces, flying it toward the MCP's citadel at the heart of the ENCOM system. During the flight, Tron interrupted her handling of the ship's controls to introduce her to Kevin Flynn (who at first mistook her for Lora). Her initial reaction to Flynn implied a level of interest, reflecting the fact that Flynn and Lora had once been a couple, but she retreated to Tron when the User attempted to approach her.
When a power surge halted their progress on the Solar Sailer beam, Yori identified it as coming from the MCP, and guided the ship up the junction Flynn created to reach another beam before the pursuing Recognizers arrived. The demonstration revealed that Flynn was a User, a fact which left Yori skeptical at first, but which she soon accepted.
Yori is saved by Flynn.
On the way to the MCP, the Solar Sailer was intercepted and destroyed by Sark's ship. He captured Yori and Flynn, intending to derezz them along with the ship once they reached the MCP's mesa. Believing Tron had perished in the crash, Yori lost hope, and was struck by a memory guard's Stun Pike when she attempted to prevent him from taking Dumont to the MCP. Spurning Flynn's attempts to encourage her, she began to lose power and came close to derezzing with the ship before Flynn revived her. Surprised at his ability to do so, she agreed to keep the remains of the carrier flying as they approached the mesa, unaware Tron was alive and had reached it ahead of them.
When they saw Tron attempting to break through the MCP's shields, Flynn decided to throw himself into its beam to distract the evil program; believing that he was sacrificing himself, he shared a brief but passionate kiss with Yori before taking the leap. The distraction did indeed allow Tron to destroy the MCP, and Yori reunited with him when the carrier landed. In her delight, she greeted him with the kiss Flynn had taught her; he was bemused, but described it as nice, and the two stood with Dumont as the system lit up again, glad of their freedom but unaware of Flynn's fate.[1]
Prior to Cindy Morgan being cast as Yori in the original film, multiple actresses tested for the role of Yori, as well as her user Lora Bradley, though they declined the role out of fear of Yori's suit. One notable actress who tested for the role was Deborah Harry, though she was evidently not cast. The role of Yori and Lora would eventually be given to Cindy Morgan, who was brought in days earlier to her first scene was shot.[2]
The film's director, Steven Lisberger, had originally wanted Yori to enter the Real World with Flynn and become a human. This scene was cut out due to lack of time to fit the scene in the film.[3] The idea of a character becoming a human and entering the real world with a user would later be used in TRON: Legacy.
When TRON: Legacy was announced, a fan campaign dubbed Yori Lives, was created with the intention of bringing Cindy Morgan and her characters Yori and Lora Baines back for the then-upcoming film.[4] Yori does not appear in Legacy however, despite the fan campaign.
General information[]
Personality[]
Yori is a sweet and endearing program with a positive personality, a strong practical side, and deep loyalty to those she loves. Even in the most intense situations she manages to find something to smile about, and does not appear to be fazed by environmental danger; she enjoys piloting the Solar Sailer and leads Tron in sliding down a long slope, suggesting with a laugh that they should "do that some more." She also retains her User's witty and sarcastic humor, particularly when she meets Kevin Flynn. Her resourcefulness allowed her to find a way into the I/O Tower and convince Dumont to allow Tron to communicate with Alan-One, and, though it took a near-death experience to shake off her grief, she was willing to continue with the mission to destroy the MCP even when she believed Tron had been killed.
Skills and Abilities[]
Yori is an accomplished engineer who specialized in the digitzation of simulations within the Grid. In a deleted scene, both her technical and creative skills are displayed to a greater extent when she transforms the appearance of her apartment from a gray and lifeless space to colorful, lively, and comfortable room. In the same deleted scene she is able to change the appearance of her wardrobe from a simple light suit to a more extravagant one. She is also a skilled pilot, singlehandedly helming the Solar Sailer and the remains of Sark's carrier with little trouble.
She is also a practical and tactical thinker. Upon being reunited with Tron, she wastes little time on indecision, swiftly discerning the best way to get to where they needed to go; he, in turn, trusts her judgment implicitly.
Romance[]
Yori and Tron in the deleted "Love Scene".
Yori's romantic relationship with Tron mirrors that of their Users, Alan Bradley and Lora Baines, in the real world, with the only major difference between them being the constant reminders of the programs' affection for one another (regardless of the situation). In both the script and two deleted scenes, the nature of their relationship is explored further by addressing their sexuality. The scene (significantly altered from how it's depicted in the script) was later removed from the film because it was considered "too sentimental" at the time, something that the director regrets now.
Yori also finds herself attracted to Kevin Flynn, who, unbeknownst to her, was once romantically involved with her User. However, her devotion to Tron is strong enough to leave her in no doubt about where she wants to be.
Trivia[]
Yori wears a close-fitting cap in most scenes, but is seen wearing a helmet for her scenes on board the Solar Sailer. This occurred because actress Cindy Morgan became fed up with the painful glue that was holding the cap to her head.
Unlike Tron, Yori lacks any indication of a identity disc on her back. However, a production photo shows her reaching for a disc suspended above her, in the same manner as Tron did when he communicated with his User.
Yori's attraction to Flynn, is confusing to her since she had never met him before, the attraction between was a deliberate decision on the part of Cindy Morgan, who felt that Yori would recognize something familiar in him since the programmer who wrote her had loved him in the past.
Yori is first mentioned in the opening scenes at the laser assembly. When the laser is focusing on its target, phrases such as "ROM YORI" and "KEY YORI" appear on the screen.
An outfit remarkably similar to the one worn by Yori in TRON can be seen in Able's Office in TRON: Uprising. The suit is seen in a display cylinder twice, though the fate of the Program who wore it, along with if the suit truly does belong to Yori, is left unknown.
When asked if Yori would be returning in TRON: Legacy, Joseph Kosinski, the director of TRON: Legacy, replied "Cindy Morgan? Her character is not in ‘Tron: Legacy,’ but that doesn’t mean she’s not in the world of Tron".[5] Hinting at the possibility that Yori is still alive.
