<p>-
- The classic Disney film that "Playboy "wanted for a spicy photo shoot</p>
<p>Jordan HoffmanJuly 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM</p>
<p>Walt Disney Company via Getty; Dale de la Rey/Bloomberg via Getty</p>
<p>The corporate logos of The Walt Disney Company and Playboy. They have nothing to do with one another, please don't sue</p>
<p>Forty-three years ago today, the movie Tron hit theaters — which makes it well above the age of 18, so it's not inappropriate to talk about it in the context of a (checks notes) ribald photo spread.</p>
<p>Tron was a massively influential movie that delighted hardcore computer and animation nerds upon its initial release, but it did elude mainstream audiences. Indeed, the 1982 film was a bit of a notorious dud, just barely making back the $50 million in worldwide grosses that The Walt Disney Company put into its budget. In a case of life reflecting art, though, the tie-in video games spawned by the movie — which in some ways is about the danger of video games — were a smash.</p>
<p>Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection</p>
<p>Cindy Morgan as Yori and Bruce Boxleitner as Tron, inside The System in 'Tron'</p>
<p>Even though Tron was revolutionary in its look — mixing early computer-generated imagery with animation and live action — the studio had difficulty marketing it. Was it for kids? For teens? For cutting-edge science-fiction enthusiasts? Without a proper explanation, the movie just looked like a bunch of weird blue guys romping around on the screen.</p>
<p>Tron was also produced during a period when Disney was not keeping up with the times. While other studios were initiating huge spends for television commercials and outdoor ads, the head of the studio, the old school E. Cardon Walker, was of the belief that a Disney product shouldn't sully itself with advertising, and he was loath to spend a dime. (He also felt that Disney shouldn't be doing anything other than pure kiddie entertainment, and a movie like Tron was outside their purview.)</p>
<p>While underlings were scrambling to figure out a way to spread the word of their newest production, they were approached with an idea that even the most adventuresome Disney exec would likely shut down. For a hot minute, there was talk of a racy pictorial in Playboy called "The Girls of Tron."</p>
<p>The shoot — which never made it past the pitch stage — involved nude models that would have circuit boards strategically placed around their bodies to keep readers' wires from truly shorting out. Disney ultimately passed on the idea.</p>
<p>Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection</p>
<p>Jeff Bridges as Clu and Bruce Boxleitner as Tron in 'Tron'</p>
<p>As for who these "Girls of Tron" would be remains unclear. There is pretty much only one woman with a speaking part in the entire movie, played by Cindy Morgan, previously seen as Lacey Underall in Caddyshack.</p>
<p>Well, to be fair, Morgan played two characters. In the "real world" she is Dr. Lora Baines, a brilliant scientist working on teleportation lasers. Inside the computer realm, she is a program named Yori who... well... this movie was made in 1982. Her primary function seems to be solely to wear a tight, glowing suit and look concerned.</p>
<p>There have long been internet rumors that Debbie Harry of the then massively popular group Blondie was in consideration for the part. (A recent interview she gave is a little fuzzy on the details; she definitely confirms that something was up, but, alas, it has been a long time, so can't get too specific.) In 1983, Harry would appear in David Cronenberg's Videodrome, another beloved film about technology of the era, but is nowhere near a Disney film.</p>
<p>Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection</p>
<p>Cindy Morgan and Bruce Boxleitner all lit up in 'Tron'</p>
<p>The punchline to all of this is that when, a generation later, Disney greenlit (or, we guess, bluelit) a sequel to Tron calledTron: Legacy, they were happy to get into bed with Playboy.</p>
<p>By 2010, the magazine was essentially family entertainment compared to the tidal wave of online smut, so a peek-a-boo pictorial of half-naked cybergals didn't seem so risqué. We're not linking to it here, but if you do a search, it's pretty easy to find.</p>
<p>We can only guess what kind of marketing shenanigans we'll see for this October's Jared Leto-led third entry in the series, Tron: Ares.</p>
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