If Universal’s plan holds true, fans won’t be waiting another nine years before seeing Matt Damon’s hardened super-spy Jason Bourne light up multiplexes again. Though both actor and his long-time director Paul Greengrass consistently denied claims that they’d return for a fourth film in the series, the allure of Bourne – particularly now in the current social and political climate – proved too strong.
And so, we arrive at Universal’s soon-to-be-released action reboot. Early buzz is certainly positive, and while box office figures will no doubt determine the eventual future of the series, the studio’s chairwoman Donna Langley told The New York Times (via The Playlist) of her desire to maintain a steady stream of Bourne movies – with Damon and Greengrass on board, of course.
Per The NY Times:
“Even though Matt and Paul had been very definitive about not wanting to come back, we weren’t really willing to submit to that…Look, here’s what I think the goal is: to keep Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass doing Bourne movies till they can’t do them anymore.”
Reflecting on his decision to finally say ‘yes’ to the offer, Matt Damon touched base on the balancing act involved in delivering a product that simultaneously boasts the spirit of the original trilogy, and something new entirely.
“At a certain point, I said to Paul, ‘People really want to see this movie, and that’s not something to turn our noses up at…Having made movies that didn’t find an audience, I didn’t want to thumb our nose at this opportunity. It’s this weird thing where you can’t give them exactly the same thing, or they’ll be resentful…But you have to give them enough of something they recognize that they feel like they’re getting what they paid for.”
Flanked by a cast of A-listers that features Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles and Riz Ahmed, Matt Damon returns as the title super-spy when Jason Bourne makes a break for theaters on July 29.
