Jared Leto's role in Tron: Ares hasn't been enough to break his streak of big-screen flops, but the actor does have an upcoming project that may give him a much-needed chance of redemption. The latest installment in the Tron franchise has largely been met with negative reviews. This is, of course, bad news for the sci-fi saga, but it's probably even worse for Leto's acting career.
Leto was awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Rayon in 2013's Dallas Buyers Club, marking one of the biggest highlights of his career. Since then, it's been pretty bumpy for him. His roles as Niander Wallace in 2017's Blade Runner 2049 and the Joker in 2021's Zack Snyder's Justice League earned him some respect from certain audiences, but that's pretty much been it.
Despite his current rough patch, Leto is still scheduled to appear in other projects beyond Tron: Ares. Of these, there is one that stands out especially prominently as a movie that could bring the actor back to his former glory. Not only that, but his Rotten Tomatoes page would finally look the most positive it's been for a while.
Leto as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe could break his poor RT streak
2026's Masters of the Universe will be the franchise's first live-action movie since 1987, which also had the same title. Nicholas Galitzine will be appearing as He-Man, and Leto will be embodying the iconic villain, Skeletor. While the Masters of the Universe IP isn't quite as beloved in the modern day, it does still have a devoted following.
If the movie does well with critics, Leto's Rotten Tomatoes page will finally have something to shout about for the first time in ages. 2022's Morbius has a score of just 22%. This was followed up by 2023's Haunted Mansion, which received a marginally better rating of 38%. Tron: Ares is currently rated at 53%, making it the best of three bad scores in a row for Jared Leto movies.
Leto is adorned with such heavy prosthetics in Haunted Mansion that it's hard to tell it's him. He also adopts a very different voice for the role. While the movie itself isn't very good, it does act as a sort of preview when it comes to what we can expect from him as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe. From watching him in Haunted Mansion, I think he's a great choice to play the upcoming movie's antagonist. If the rest of the movie is just as well cast and has a good script, I can see critics loving it.
Leto's 3 most recent movies might have been unfairly judged
It's important to note that the Rotten Tomatoes scores I've mentioned so far have come from the site's Tomatometer, which takes the scores of critics from various outlets into account. However, Rotten Tomatoes also allows fans to vote, and the results are collated into something called the Popcornmeter. Because fans can often be less objective with their ratings, and instead tend to judge by pure enjoyment levels, the Popcornmeter scores can be much higher.
This is the case for Morbius (71%), Haunted Mansion (84%), and Tron: Ares (86%). So, there are clearly people out there who think all three of Leto's most recent movies are good, going on great. This is probably a comfort for those making Masters of the Universe, as even if it doesn't do well with movie critics, there is still a strong chance that fans will be more forgiving of the project that could restore Jared Leto's reputation.