So the Internet has blown up because A-lister Matt Damon is in talks with director Paul Greengrass about a possible sequel to the Bourne movies. Damon who created the movie version of the character in 2002 with THE BOURNE IDENTITY followed this with THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004) and THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007). The trilogy has made over $1billion at the box office internationally. A fourth film, starring Jeremy Renner, THE BOURNE LEGACY (2012) was relatively less successfu,l but a sequel has still been announced. The original trio of films were penned by Tony Gilroy, however Greengrass has said he would write the screenplay for this fourth Jason Bourne outing.
The heat coming off the what is merely the announcement of”talks” may strike non-fans as over the top, but Damon has said several times he would only reprise the role of Bourne if Greengrass was involved. Damon has been careful about saying too much in public after Universal Studio’s tight deadline on Ultimatum. As he said to the Huffington Post: “We did not have a script and we had a release date. And that was just harrowing.”
The Bourne movies are based on writer Robert Ludlum’s thrillers. There was also a series of Bourne telemovies starring Richard Chamberlain. These and the books were products of the 1980s. The 21st century films have become the gold standard for Hollywood thriller action. Movies like TAKEN (2008) as well as the Daniel Craig Bond films, owe a debt to the brutal one-on-one combat that is the signature of this franchise.
Word is that if this fourth Jason Bourne film is made it may push back the July 2016 deadline of the Renner sequel. No word yet on the film’s title however BOURNE FREE, NATURAL BOURNE KILLERS and BOURNE ON THE FOURTH OF JULY all appear to be out.
