Matt Damon Open To 'Bourne 5,' But If 'Legacy' Is A Hit, He Expects The Franchise To Move On Without Him

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• Marc | April 15, 2013 5:24 AMReply

  No offense but Legacy is goddamn awful, from the way he failed his training by losing his pills, flirting with a bio-chemist in a lab, to ultimately relying on pills to stay strong is just absolutely poor plot.
  
  All those rockets, cheap pinoy labors and especially the dwarf sized Philippines policemen, are such turn off(not being racist, if you remember police in Moscow, Zurich, etc, they look much realistic than those in Legacy) when they are 'trying' to stop a supposed 'assassin'. Renner or the director doesn't have the genuine idea of the feelings of assassins, Aaron Cross smiled way too much, too relaxed, and his combat scenes are too robotic and unrealistic.
  
  To sum it up, Aaron Cross can't even match a fellow assassin in the entire movie, in fact, the bio-chemist he flirted with applied the finishing touches to end an assassin's life while Aaron Cross is struggling for balance on a bike when he knows he's not in a condition to ride one.
  
  If Renner is going to feature in Bourne 5, don't expect me to hit the cinemas.

• TFOrange | April 24, 2013 6:20 PM

  NO WAY brother.. "Legacy" was epic, i thought. It dove faar more into the actual details of these types of compartmented "programs" inside the Agency etc. Plus, it even touched on the JSOC and civilian side of the programs a bit too, if you look into it closely. I loved that...
  It was actually a bit more realistic, yet Hollywood-stylistic at the same time (which is a rare contradiction), then the other Bourne films, which were good too.
  
  But Renner didn't fail at all... And i like how it didn't turn into a "they killed my gf so now, to avenge her, i will go on a campaign to kill my own kind" type of deal. Instead, Renner/"Cross" tries to run and get away and get his meds more than actually targeting his own kind. Plus, Edward Norton's little monologue about being a "sin-eater" and how these programs, despite being "morally indefensible" are still "absolutely necessary"...one of the best scenes in the entire franchise actually, if you ask me. It hits on my favorite political aspect of these films... What do we do in the War on Terror against these terror cells? How do we operate now? etc etc etc...
  These type of Special Access Programs/Black Compartmented Programs are the new type of assymetric warfare, and using assets like those loosely described in these films (but instead, the real life version) are going to play a huge part in how we project power in the future against North Korea (as obviously we NEED to nowadays), Iran, Yemen, Syria, etc.
  
  P.S
  I would love to see Renner and Damon fight each other in the next part of the series...would be the best fight in Hollywood history, I'd say.

• Joanna | December 23, 2012 8:15 PMReply

  I think Renner and Damon should do the next Bourne together; the best of BOTH worlds.

• Karen | January 16, 2013 6:00 PM

  Renner and Rachel - BEST Bourne movie EVER! they should be the next 'team' in the next Bourne movie. Rachel has shown growth from the willingly naive doctor to a very capable 'mate' to Renner - making a perfect team. Could not get enough of this movie - acting was superb, storyline was well written and believable, and action was not over the top. Like The Avengers, the actors belonged to the plot. Keep Renner and Rachel together!!!!

• David Olawale Ayinde | December 14, 2012 3:52 PMReply

  I think Jeremy Renner , Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton did a good job in Bourne Legacy, however I am looking forward to Matt Damon as returning as "Jason Bourne".
  
  Despite Renner's fine performance, I am looking forward to Damon returning in the next movie.
  
  Whatever happens, Jeremy has done a fine job, but I am looking forward

• Loki | December 4, 2012 1:35 PMReply

  I walked out of legacy and got a refund after googling and realizing Damon wasn't going to appear and turn the unrealistic abilities and super human crap I was seeing into something watchable. I'm hoping Damon had some time to write or at least get some plot points down since he can write incredible yet realistic and gritty character and storylines that were similar to the 1st three movies.
  
  No offense to Renner but I don't want to see Bourne in the title only to not see him or have writing like the first three. I may even have watched it had it not been labeled as Bourne and I see no reason they couldn't be an Alex cross series or them to partner up in a movie making many storylines and avenues to explore. The superhuman abilities crap though was just a truly awful idea.

• JayGee | November 18, 2012 6:37 AMReply

  I hope Matt Damon appears in the next Movie. Its really a nice movie, lots of action and content in it.

• Joe | October 12, 2012 5:44 PMReply

  Whoops, sorry I posted 2 of the same things... but anyways, If you are reading this Tony Gilroy, you should really let Matt Damon come back, he is a good actor and him and Renner will be a hit. You should also allow Greengrass to come back and help with the film too. You have to do this, it will make LOTS of money. By the way...Legacy was really good :)

• Joe | October 12, 2012 5:33 PMReply

  Matt Damon definitely has to come back...I've seen all the movies and ALL of them were great. I think the first 3 had an awesome story to it, and Matt Damon did very well in them. I also thought Legacy was equally as good. Jeremy Renner did well too, and thought he was a nice touch to the series. In my opinion, I think in the 5th, Bourne (Damon) Cross (Renner) should link up and be a team to 'finish what Bourne started.' SO PLEASE COME BACK DAMON! AND YOU TOO RENNER! YOU GUYS WILL BE AWESOME!!!!!!!!

• Jason | January 9, 2013 10:07 AM

  I agreed :)

• Joe | October 12, 2012 5:27 PMReply

  Matt Damon definitely has to come back...I've seen all the movies and ALL of them I thought were amazing, the first three had a very good story to it, and Matt Damon did very well playing his part. I think the fourth one was a hit also, Jeremy Renner did well in Legacy and I enjoyed it just as much as the first 3. In my opinion, I think that both Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner should do the 5th together, link up and be one team and finish what Bourne started. SO COME BACK DAMON! Bourne is calling... YOU TOO RENNER! YOU GUYS WILL BE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• ajotage(adalbertogazio) | September 23, 2012 8:07 PMReply

  For is important the movies continued with Matt Damon, becouse Jason Bourne is Matt Damon.
  Another actor to Jason Bourne, is perseflage and no good. Sorry.

• Jeremy | September 20, 2012 3:27 PMReply

  Matt Damon is JASONBOURNE

• johnny | September 29, 2012 8:26 AM

  of course hes jason bourne, renner is cross, the films been out a month now you should of figured that out by now, there is room for damon to return, and for anyne lookin atthe age issue, how old is neeson now, how do u think he did in taken, if he can still do a bit of action then i dont see why matt cant

• angelo van den noord | September 8, 2012 9:33 AMReply

  yeah no matt damon no bourne. so i hope thay will make a new bourne movie so matt damon can go make whatever the story is. cos he was the bourne and always be. so hope to see u soon matt damon

• Jose | August 13, 2012 1:37 AMReply

  I am a big fan of the bourne movies and would love to see both bourne and cross on the next movie

• Ajay | August 3, 2012 12:14 AMReply

  I was very excited to read that a New Bourne Movie is going to be released, but as I read Damon is no more Bourne I can't digest this. No Damon No Bourne.

• -.- | August 7, 2012 12:17 PM

  No, Damon's still Bourne. They're just introducing a new character in the same time frame as Ultimatum called Aaron Cross played by Jeremy Renner.
  "Gilroy and Universal have left the door open for Damon to return."
  "Like longtime 'Bourne' series producer Frank Marshall said, his "dream is to have a Bourne film that stars both Renner and Damon.""
  Hopefully, Damon will be back for the 5th movie!

• justin mcg | July 30, 2012 10:32 PMReply

  Seroously? I am not sold on the angle they are going with.. sounds a bit xmen to me. Greast cadt.. and the flick seems to have some style. But the obvious jumping off point.. did bourne get it all back? Why did he choose to join treadston. Who was jason bourne? We never met the real bourne.. in the books bourne murdered webb's family and was a traitor. When he joined treadstone he took on the identity.. speaking of.. why the identity? Ehat was its purpose? All things covered in the first book that wss a great open area to mine for a fourth film.. too bad they never went that way with it.

• FOSSIL | July 29, 2012 2:18 PMReply

  No Damon, no movie. You don't remove the main guy and think that is going to appeal to the original viewers, do you? Sure, you will have new viewers and they may think that is good, but you lost the ones before, and that is a huge loss in movie revenue. Will see who's right at the end.

• Playhouse | July 28, 2012 3:26 AMReply

  Personally, I think this is an ingenious way to expand the franchise. I'm all for another Damon 'Bourne' movie, but they have the unique opportunity to create and explore a larger world outside of David Webb's story. While it would be cool to see both Bourne and Cross in the same movie at some point, I think they should consider just letting the Cross story move along its own trajectory for the immediate future. There's no reason why they can't have a Cross trilogy, bring Bourne back for his own fourth film, create more off-shoots of the franchise, and then consider crossover films down the road.
  .
  I'm looking forward to this.

• konny | September 29, 2012 8:23 AM

  if liam neeson can still do it why cant damon

• Chris | August 12, 2012 5:25 PM

  There is a great reason why not do what you're saying...Matt Damon would at that time be 50 plus years old.

• Zinjo | July 26, 2012 2:10 PMReply

  It will all depend on how they end "Legacy". It appears quite clear to me that "Legacy" is a companion piece to the Bourne series, in that it takes place in parallel to the Jason Bourne films. Thus they would have to find a reason to bring Jason back into the mix. He ended his run with a threat to the powers that be to leave him alone. Perhaps that is what is needed for a premise to be created to bring both characters together and for the CIA to try and "finish the job" of the Treadstone cleanup. It isn't impossible, it just requires more than 2 dimensional imagination to figure it out.

• Toya C | July 24, 2012 5:57 PMReply

  That is very upsetting that they couldn't come up with a plot. All they needed to do was re watch the other 3 movies before it!!! First question, who are Jason's parents? was he an orphan? who else was in his group?? What ever happened between Bourne and Julia Styles character. They alluded to a relationship but never explained where and how it developed and how it ended. They should of took the step of filling in all the gaps. How did he learn the languages? Show the training he received, injections. Show how they recruited the people. Did Jason have siblings? There were so many questions I have answered I was really looking forward to a Bourne, and then when it comes out its with totally new people. That makes absolutely no sense. I will not be supporting the Legacy with Jeremy Renner. He may be great but he is no Matt Damon!!!!

• w.b.h. | July 18, 2012 4:21 PMReply

  I think that I was under that 'proverbial rock' because I didn't know that Damon had walked away from the Bourne movies. I kept thinking how could they make another Bourne without Matt Damon. Now, I see. But I probably won't be seeing the movie. It just won't be the same. As we look at the sequels to other movies, all of the original characters are there. In the "Dark Knight Rises," Bale is there, Freeman is there, and even the guy who played the butler is there. The only person missing is Heath Ledger, of course, because he died. But the other main characters are there.
  In the Bourne Legacy, all of the characters are back, including "Pamela Landy," and the guy who was supposed to be in jail, "Noah Vossen," I believe. If they wanted to bring those characters back, then they should have made some sort of deal to bring the original Bourne (Jason) back; if only in cameos. Let's say, bring him back on the part where he jumped in the lake and his body was never recovered. Maybe, go from there where he went into retirement. Show him in some distance place or something. Don't just come on with a whole new story line and a whole new "Bourne." Damon made that character. Damon is that character. I will NOT be watching another Bourne---I don't care how good it is---until Matt Damon is back in that role.

• penny | July 17, 2012 1:42 AMReply

  matt damon is amazing it's either jason bourne or nothing really it wouldnt be the same and no one could act as amazing as matt damon so matt damon pleaseeeeeeee come back!

• soso | July 17, 2012 12:29 AMReply

  For me it's not a Bourne Movie without Matt Damon. I also don't care for the new lead actor.

• Zoso187 | July 16, 2012 5:59 PMReply

  There is no Bourne without Damon

• Toya C | July 24, 2012 5:58 PM

  My sentiments exactly.

• King James | July 16, 2012 5:26 PMReply

  MATT DAMON is the real Bourne I'm sorry, Its like the Terminator without Arnold Swazzengear or Rambo without Sylvester Stallone NO WAY WE WANT DAMON!!!

• Stardice | July 16, 2012 5:24 PMReply

  MATT DAMON is the real Bourne I'm sorry, Its like the Terminator without Arnold Swazzengear or Rambo without Sylvester Stallone NO WAY WE WANT BOURNE!!!

• jeremy | September 20, 2012 3:31 PM

  I totally agree with you, Matt Damon is the real Jason Bourne !

• Bad Teacher | July 16, 2012 3:57 PMReply

  I am actually looking forward to The Bourne Legacy WITHOUT Matt Damon. Where else can the story go? A different agent in the same universe freshens things up a great deal and I have to wonder at the people whining about Damon being absent. I'm a fan of the original trilogy but I'm also intrigued at what else could exist in the Bourne universe. Renner is a great actor and I like the way the trailers look. I'm in.

• ANONYMOUS | July 16, 2012 12:39 AMReply

  Renner doesn't look the part. We want Matt Damon!

• Illusionist | July 15, 2012 11:04 PMReply

  I'll skip legacy and go watch the real Matt Damon kick a in Elysium. It'll be out in 7 months.

• David | July 15, 2012 9:53 PMReply

  Matt Damon is a great big lefty pinko, but he's also Jason Bourne. I don't see this movie doing real well without him. The dude they picked to be the lead looks a like ninja turtle. No X factor. Maybe not even a Y or Z factor either. We really need to find some macho American actors, because for the most part we're turning out a buncha runts and fluffs these days. The movie is probably not gonna fair very well.

• Dayshifter | July 16, 2012 6:06 AM

  "lefty pinko" why do people interject politics into everything?!? That's scary!!

• Ur mom | July 15, 2012 10:19 PM

  Have you seen the movies Renner starred in?! He is a tough guy and he'll do well in this movie. If the movie fails, it's all on the director and/or the studio.

• rodie | July 15, 2012 9:41 PMReply

  If Legacy is a hit, then Gilroy has the keys to the franchise? Not so fast. While I think it will do well, it'd be hard pressed to surpass Ultimatum's numbers. My guess is, Renner's film will be a solid hit, but not super huge. 2-3 years from now their will be another Bourne film with Damon and Renner both in it, going toe-to-toe for a time, then teaming up against some greater threat. Greengrass will direct and Gilroy will pen the script and get producer credit.
  
  Then they'll cap this new trilogy with one final film with Renner and Damon both...one of them will die in the film (probably Renner) and Bourne will walk away from the spy game forever.

• Edward Davis | July 15, 2012 9:45 PM

  Fan fiction is so cute. You're aware of all the problems within those creative people outlined above, no?

• Aidan Williams | July 15, 2012 6:41 PMReply

  I think Jeremy Renner is a good actor too i loved him in Mission Impossible 4 and it would be a really good idea if him and Matt Damon could star together in Bourne 5 and The Bourne Legacy sunds really exciting and i cant wait to see it.

• Rebecca | July 15, 2012 2:57 PMReply

  Bring back Matt Damon, I don't like Renner and I hope the movie under performs.

• Dayshifter | July 16, 2012 6:10 AM

  @UR MOM
  Why would the movie suck?!? ... Sorry I've enjoyed waaaay more Wahlberg films then Renner!!

• Mike | July 15, 2012 10:29 PM

  If they want Jason Bourne and can't get Matt Damon for script, director or whatever the only possible replacement to play Jason Bourne would be Mark Wahlberg

• Ur mom | July 15, 2012 3:22 PM

  You want the movie to suck cuz of one actor? That's just stupid. Many people would disagree, Jeremy is an awesome actor and I'm sure this film will succeed. I really do hope Damon comes back and teams up with Renner in the sequel.

• John | July 15, 2012 1:36 PMReply

  Why not have a tie-in 'Bourne 5' with both Renner and Damon? I would watch that movie any day.

• Sweetsoul | July 17, 2012 12:31 AM

  Edward please point me to the articles that explains the entire situation in depth. I only cited empire because they have a direct quote from Gilroy.

• Sweetsoul | July 17, 2012 12:28 AM

  Gilroy was a contributing writer on the trilogy. He did not create anything. Jason Bourne was a creation of Robert Ludlum. Gilroy along with other writers wrote the movies in the trilogy.

• CHROMOSONES | July 16, 2012 7:38 PM

  @Sweet Soul. You know Tony Gilroy invented the entire series before this, right?

• Edward Davis | July 16, 2012 7:36 PM

  At SweetSoul. You've been sold the kool-aid version. You probably need to read more than one issue of Empire on this.
  
  The only reason because Gilroy came back was because Damon and Greengrass walked away from the series. Sure there was a lot of apologetic, "sure, we want to do this, but we need a good story" talk, which is true, but the fact of the matter was they were walking away -- couching it as "for the time being" and Universal, who wanted to keep this lucrative series going, approached (begged) Gilroy to take another stab at it.
  
  Seriously, there's a much larger narrative at play here. You've beyond simplified it.

• Sweetsoul | July 16, 2012 12:50 PM

  I think saying Damon and Greengrass not wanting to participate is not totally true. They were waiting for a script before committing. Universal wanted them to commit without one. Gilroy came aboard as the new writer but he had no intention of continuing on from Ultimatum. He pitched his new idea for the Bourne Legacy and that's what Universal picked up. [this is from Gilroy himself in the latest interview in Empire] Then Gilroy took on the directing duties as well. It wasn't like Damon and Greengrass didn't want to do it.

• Sweetsoul | July 16, 2012 12:46 PM

  Jason Bourne did not have enhanced chromosones or whatever. It was never indicated in any of the books or movies. This genetic manipulation is all Tony Gilroy's creation for this new movie and his new character.

• Chromosones | July 16, 2012 11:47 AM

  You don't think Jason Bourne was enhanced? What makes you think he was not?

• A 'Bourne 5' Cross Over Isn't Easy | July 16, 2012 11:46 AM

  UR Mom and John. Did u read the piece?
  
  A cross-over is hard to pull off for political reasons. Damon and Renner are cool. Gilroy and Paul Greengrass are not. Gilroy and Damon aren't either; consider that Damon threw him under the bus earlier in the year.
  
  Gilroy basically owns this thing now creatively. So how do Damon and Greengrass come back? A lot of fences need to be mended, no joke.
  
  Damon is gonna star in a Bourne movie with Renner directed by Gilroy after he shat all over him? How does that work?
  
  If Legacy is a hit, Gilroy -- who rescued the franchise in Universal's eyes because Damon and Greengrass no longer wanted to participate -- is just gonna hand the series back to Greengrass?
  
  Think about it, not easy.

• Ur mom | July 15, 2012 10:15 PM

  They're actually considering that. Since The Bourne Legacy takes place during The Bourne Ultimatum, they can probably have Cross and Bourne meet each other in the sequel. That could work. I would love to see that too. ^_^

• greenleaf | July 15, 2012 3:39 PM

  First, thanks for writing the story straight and accurately.
  Gilroy has (imo, stupidly) given Renner "enhanced chromosomes" or some other such nonsense. So, this faux-Bourne does not live in the same universe with the rest of us - or Bourne. In the trailer he jumps off what looks like a 3-story building and lands like it was nothing. Trilogy stunts were designed to be spectacular, but POSSIBLE FOR A SKILLED HUMAN. Obviously as soon as Damon left Gilroy decided to glom onto the current superhero fad. The reason the trilogy was so fantastic was because it created its own fad -gritty realism. So the two characters can never exist in the same universe, which possibly was Gilroy's intention. There will be no faux Bourne for ME. I still want the original, because it's obvious Damon won't make one he doesn't believe in. Legacy is an overt cash grab, and incredibly despressing to even think about.

• SweetSoul | July 15, 2012 12:34 PMReply

  I would gladly sit through another Bourne with Matt Damon. I love all 3 movies and would have loved to see him in the next. There a plenty of people that feel the same as I do.

• tristan eldritch | July 15, 2012 12:27 PMReply

  Man, I don't know why anybody would want to sit through Damon stoically and blankly running through another two hour obstacle course of spatial/temporal confusion. With figures in the background making phone-calls that imply that the US intelligence might be a little bit bad, but not really, for the sake of mild edginess.

• Lou | July 15, 2012 2:47 PM

  Great comment, Tristan. I have always wondered whether Bourne films (especially 2 and 3) are, in fact, financed by telephone or cell-phone companies.

• j bone | July 15, 2012 12:00 PMReply

  matt damon's a tool