As someone who would label themselves a "Bourne" fanatic, I'm pretty broken up over the fact that Matt Damon won't be returning for the 4th movie, "The Bourne Legacy". Early on, Matt Damon had stated that he wasn't going to do any more Bourne movies after Ultimatum if friend and Director of the previous two Bourne films, Paul Greengrass wasn't going to return. But even after Greengrass stated that he wouldn't be returning to the franchise, comments by Damon in recent history eluded to some possibility that he could reprise his role. That hope, however, is gone as the Director-screenwriter for the Bourne Legacy, Tony Gilroy, contacted Hollywood-Elsewhere and set the record straight.
The sad truth of the matter is that Matt Damon won't be Bourne. However, Gilroy has really pushed the fact that the Legacy won't be a reboot, recast, or prequel. The way he describes it is as an "expansion or reveal with a whole new hero and a whole new chapter. Gilroy goes on to say that the first three films were a trigger for Legacy, and that from here on out they are moving in a new direction. From the sound of that, could a 5th, 6th, and 7th Bourne movies be in the cards? It's certainly possible as there are 7 Bourne books in the series. Although, the movie series doesn't follow the books at all, sharing only the name.
I'm highly optimistic and certainly depressed at this point. A completely different character and chapter is more or less a sugarcoating for "a whole new movie". If that's the case, why water down/ruin the Bourne series with a character and chapters that don't star the Jason Bourne -- Matt Damon? Of course, if Gilroy is successful in penning an amazing movie, and assuming the new hero and characters can actually act, Bourne Legacy could actually be good.
Through it all, there is still a small sliver of hope for a Matt Damon return. In speaking of the new plot for Bourne Legacy, Gilroy states that while the story will be completely new, it is layed out in a way that means Matt Damon's Bourne was real and did exist, and that he could come back in future movies.
But is it a futile flash of hope? Of all the movie series I've seen that have gone past 2-3 movies, "suck" usually accompanied the reviews. Movie studios get $$ signs in the eyes and milk a series until the original material/story is completely ruined and exhausted. Hopefully that's not what Universal Pictures does here.
So I will wait for the Bourne Legacy, skeptical, angry, and sad.
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