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“ |
Since time began, man has gazed at the stars and he has wondered... am I alone? Well it turns out that we've been looking in the wrong direction. Because intelligent life does exist. Only it's not out there. It's in here. |
” |
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—Julian Dillinger[src] |
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| Julian Dillinger | |
| Biographical information | |
| Status | Alive |
| Physical description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Other information | |
| Functions | Chairman of Dillinger Systems |
| Allies | Athena |
| Out of universe information | |
| Actor | Evan Peters |
| Appearances | TRON: Ares |
Julian Dillinger is the main and later overarching antagonist in TRON: Ares. He is the grandson of Edward Dillinger, Sr.[1][2] and the chairman of Dillinger Systems. He created his own Grid system, separate from the one originally created by Kevin Flynn.[3]
History[]
Julian Dillinger, grandson of former ENCOM executive Ed Dillinger, served as CEO of Dillinger Systems. Working to surpass ENCOM, Julian led a project to bring digital constructs into the real world. He introduces Ares, a Master Control Program designed as the “perfect, expendable soldier,” capable of existing briefly outside the Grid.
Despite warnings from his mother, Elisabeth Dillinger, Julian concealed Ares’s limited lifespan and used him to attack ENCOM’s mainframe to steal the Permanence Code, a breakthrough developed by Eve Kim that could allow digital life to exist indefinitely in the physical world. When Ares began showing signs of self-awareness and empathy, Julian dismissed it as a malfunction and continued to manipulate him for his own gain.
As his actions escalated, Julian ordered Ares and Athena to pursue Eve, intending to extract the code from her, even at the cost of her life. His obsession drove a wedge between him and his mother, who ultimately moved to have him removed as CEO. After Elisabeth was killed by Athena during the chaos, Julian’s empire collapsed and his reputation was ruined.
In the film’s closing scenes, Julian evaded arrest by digitizing himself into the Dillinger Grid, where he encountered an identity disk that transformed his appearance into that of his grandfather’s program, Sark.
Quotes[]
"Members of the board, for over 40 years, my family at Dillinger Systems has battled ENCOM for control of the future. You put me in charge of the company to ensure our victory. Today, I make it so. Imagine if all our digital prowess wasn't just digital. What if anything we could dream in the machine could happen here? What if we co build the bridge between two previously walled-off worlds? So much talk of AI and big tech today. Virtual worlds, what are they gonna look like? When will we get there? Well, folks. We're not going there. They are coming here."
"Once upon a time, there was a weapon and it's name was ARES and ARES obeyed every command from Julian Dillinger and Julian Dillinger made a trillion dollars, he wrote his name on the face of time in BLOOD! If any PEBKAC error is behind these feelings, I'm going to find it and rip it out of you, do I make myself clear?"
Trivia[]
- TRON: Ares establishes the fact that Julian's mother Elisabeth is the oldest daughter of Ed Dillinger, making her the elder sister and by extension Julian a nephew of Edward Dillinger, Jr.
- Julian Dillinger is the fourth user in the TRON trilogy to enter a Grid, following Kevin Flynn (TRON), Sam Flynn (TRON: Legacy), and Eve Kim (TRON: Ares).