Tony Gilroy Will Direct ‘Bourne 4,’ With or Without Matt Damon

In March this year, actor Matt Damon said that, as interesting as it may sound, he wasn’t into the idea of making a fourth Bourne film. He may still be so – but Universal has big plans for the franchise and has already gotten a director on board.

The issue of whether a fourth installment to the Bourne franchise would ever be made has been up for debate for many months now, with Damon himself and former director Paul Greengrass saying it was time to pull the plug on it.

Universal obviously doesn’t agree and, amidst talk that the franchise will go on with a fourth film, a director has been attached, Deadline reports: Tony Gilroy.

Gilroy is not a stranger to the franchise, having worked on the script of all 3 previous films. He’s also directed “Michael Clayton” and “Duplicity,” meaning he’s familiar to the action genre.

“This signals that the picture – tentatively titled The Bourne Legacy – is on a clear forward track,” the movie-oriented e-zine says.

Not only is Universal bent on making the franchise move forward, but it’s also determined to do so with or without Matt Damon – though it’s yet to find a suitable replacement in the latter eventuality.

“Gilroy was hired to write the fourquel back in June. The picture will be produced by Frank Marshall, along with Jeffrey Weiner and Ben Smith of Captivate Entertainment,” Deadline further says.

“Bourne had originally been earmarked for 2012, but right now a clear timetable hasn’t been locked in. The picture is a giant priority for Universal, and Donna Langley and Peter Cramer have been working hard to make it happen,” the same e-zine notes.

At the end of last year, when Greengrass (who helmed Bourne 2 and 3) walked out on the franchise after a spat with Universal, Matt Damon did the same, saying he would only return if Greengrass also came back.

Since then, the actor has changed his story a bit, saying in March this year that he was too “old” to come back as the forgetful agent, and that the franchise could only have a future if it went in a different direction than the other 3 movies.

“I think there’s a good way to do a prequel with someone else, but not me. What any studio is interested in is making a franchise like Bourne an evergreen that can just go on and on. With me playing him, Bourne got his memory back three times,” Damon said at the time.

“So I don’t think anybody wants to see me say ‘I don’t remember’ again. But you could do a prequel with another actor being the first Bourne before his identity gets passed on to me. In fact, why not two or three? As for me coming back to do him again, I’m just saying no,” the actor explained.