For those of you who were excited when news hit that the upcoming Disney sequel, Tron Legacy, would be getting a 3D IMAX release, you'll probably be interested in the following news: the movie will feature five sequences shot in full HD IMAX aspect ratio, a la The Dark Knight.

Peter Sciretta from /Film and Alex Billington from First Showing recently got a chance to get some info from Tron Legacy director, Joseph Kosinski, after the disappointing special worldwide Tron Legacy event that was held this past weekend. After Peter told Kosinski how great it was to see the trailer in IMAX filling up most of the screen, the director revealed that five of the sequences in the actual movie will follow suit.

The sequences will be shot with IMAX cameras and presented in the expanded 1.7:1 aspect ratio as opposed to the usual 2.35:1 widescreen ratio you get when stretching pictures shot with regular cameras to IMAX size. If you've ever forked over your hard-earned cash to see a movie in IMAX, you'll know that most of the time the whole screen isn't filled with picture and instead you get the big black bars at the top and bottom. Although you'll still be getting that with the Tron sequel, for the five sequences in question almost all of the screen will be filled with glorious 3D HD IMAX images.

If you've never seen a movie in IMAX then all that may not sound like much, but when you actually see the visuals, you'll surely notice the difference. And since Kosinski says the sequences are action ones, I take it they won't be moments where characters are just standing around talking...

Tron Legacy new image

If this IMAX aspect ratio talks sounds a bit familiar that's because The Dark Knight did a very similar thing back in 2008: Even though the whole movie wasn't shot for "true IMAX," certain scenes were filmed using IMAX cameras, resulting in more of an immersive experience at the movie theater.

In order to help anyone out who needs it, Peter over at /Film has kindly provided an image to illustrate the difference between the "true IMAX" and normal aspect ratios. Admittedly, Peter says, it's not exact but it gives you a good idea. You can head over to /Film to take a look.

Remember the WHOLE of Tron Legacy in IMAX won't be shown in the larger 1.7:1 aspect ratio, just five special sequences shot with IMAX cameras. But nonetheless, if you're inclined to pay that bit extra to get a more immersive experience, it's good to know we'll be getting something extra special.

Tron Legacy Header

I wouldn't normally go see a movie in IMAX but the fact that certain sequences are going to be shown in "true IMAX" is enough incentive for me to pay that bit extra to catch it in that format. As a pre-release bonus of sorts, /Film was also told that we'll be getting an IMAX trailer online to show the difference between IMAX and the normal format.

Are you glad that we'll be getting some special sequences in full IMAX? Or does it not make a difference to you?

Tron Legacy is released in 3D IMAX and regular theaters on December 17th, 2010.

Source: /Film