Film franchises are becoming increasingly popular; audiences like to be able to identify with the characters in movies, perhaps, and that's easier when you have come across them before.
Tron Legacy is the latest movie in that particular series, but there are also many other franchises that have become audience favourites.
You only have to look at how many sequels have been released in recent years and have topped the box office, which highlights their popularity to both producers and audiences. From the Toy Story franchise to Shrek, sequels are becoming commonplace and in many ways they're a win-win situation.
Film franchises aren't all about sequels, though: prequels, which can give a new meaning to events in earlier films, are a particularly popular way of reigniting a franchise.
The video game Tron Evolution does just that job; Tron: Evolution precedes Tron: Legacy and is also being released in the winter. The Tron game will tell the story of an epic battle fought against a dictator's seemingly unstoppable army, and will allow those who have played the game to gain further insight into the storyline surrounding the film.
Many would argue that the video game is the perfect medium in which to develop, supplement and augment the chief plot points of a franchise and its fictional world. Able to unfold at the pace that the player decides, video game adaptations of a movie franchise will often focus on the story of a lesser character, and examine them more closely. Sometimes it will also set a new plot occasionally even an alternative plot - for the main protagonist.
Of course, video game technology feeds back into the film franchise, too. The continuing development of CGI has allowed for films that are more stunning than ever, and Tron: Legacy will itself be groundbreaking in this area. The use of computer generated graphics helps to make the Light Cycles in particular look impressive, and the whole virtual world in which the film is set is a real marvel.
What's more, Tron: Legacy will be a visual demonstration of how far graphics have moved on since the original production was released in 1982.
While the look of films is something that hits audiences straightaway, ultimately the plot and storyline remain among the most important elements. Tron: Legacy sees Sam, the son of the main character from the original film, Kevin Flynn, search for his dad who has disappeared since the events of the first movie. His son Sam gets pulled into the digital world in which Kevin has been living for over two decades and together father and son have to embark on a dangerous journey.
It will be this quest that will keep cinema audiences gripped as they wait to find out how Sam, Kevin and his loyal confidante Quorra will fare. The Tron sequel has been a long time coming and many will be eager to reacquaint themselves with the adventures of Kevin Flynn in the virtual universe; a world of his own making.