Damon confirmed out of The Bourne Legacy, but could return
Ever since the release of The Bourne Ultimatum, it has been speculated that Matt Damon would return as Jason Bourne, but only if Paul Greengrass was on board (here). A few months later Tony Gilroy was confirmed to be directing The Bourne Legacy (here), and it raised questions about Damon’s involvement. Now, it seems that Damon is “definitely” out ofThe Bourne Legacy, but could possibly return in a future installment.
Deadline Hollywood now confirms that “Matt Damon definitely isn’t returning to reprise Jason Bourne in The Bourne Legacy.” Good news is that Damon could possibly return as the writers are trying to make a way for Damon to return one last time. This whole situation started when Damon stated he wouldn’t return unless Greengrass was in, but Universal wasn’t willing to wait on Damon to decide. Thus, Gilroy found a way (here) to continue the series, and not have to worry about backlash from the fans for replacing Damon.
While another actor could have easily been brought in and replace Damon, Gilroy couldn’t find “another actor who brings more integrity and dignity, and a lack of cynicism to his work than Matt.”This new film will feature a different agent similar to Jason Bourne, who also underwent the same experiences Bourne went through. The writers did come up with a way to keep everything that was established in the original trilogy, and place it into The Bourne Legacy. Gilroy does seem to give this some good thought, but can fans support a Bourne-less film?
Production is looking to begin next Spring for a release in August of 2012.
