Taking over for Doug Liman on the second and third installments of the Bourne trilogy, director Paul Greengrass injected a ferocious energy into the films before he and Matt Damon stepped away from the franchise. Fans are hopeful that the pair will return soon, but unfortunately, the director appears to be done with Bourne movies for good.
Doing some press for his recent film Captain Phillips, Greengrass discussed, once again, why he will no longer be involved in the series.
I can’t speak for Matt, but I agonized for a long period of time about it. In the end I felt I had given it my all in two films I’m very proud of and didn’t want to make another if I didn’t believe it could be as good if not better.
He also talked about his concern of eventually just “going through the motions” with the high probability of the studio demanding annual releases. For the record, longtime Fast & Furious director Justin Lin opted out of the seventh film because Universal wanted it released exactly a year after the previous installment. Greengrass simply does not have another Bourne film in him, and would hate to make a lackluster entry. That’s certainly respectable, if a bit disappointing.
Both Greengrass and Matt Damon were absent from 2012’s The Bourne Legacy, a peripheral film to The Bourne Ultimatum starring Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross, another product of the organization that turned Bourne into a killing machine. Damon, for his part, has stated that he will only return to the series if Greengrass is involved, so don’t expect to see Jason Bourne again anytime soon.
Paul Greengrass, however, wishes the series well and hopes that it continues to prosper. And prosper it will, as Jeremy Renner’s next turn in the franchise is set for release in 2015.
Tell us, do you enjoy Renner’s adventures through the world of Bourne, or should this series be Damon or bust?