14 DAY TRIAL // The fourth Bourne film has been subject to countless rumors over the years, with many movie insiders even saying that chances are it will never happen. This seemed to be confirmed when director Paul Greengrass left the franchise and was soon followed by Matt Damon himself. Now, the actor is saying the film will happen – it just won’t be as Bourne fans would expect it to be, as SlashFilm can confirm.
Apparently, the fourth installment in the franchise will be made, but it will mark a clear departure from the three other films. In other words, “Bourne 4” will be either a prequel or a reboot, which means, either way, fans will not find in it cast members they’ve come to love, which also includes Damon himself and the director. This, in turn, would mean that the franchise is about to be given a fresh new start, but when that will happen exactly is yet to be revealed.
“There’ll probably be a prequel of some kind with another actor and another director before we do another one, just because I think we’re probably another five years away from doing it – we’ve got to get a script,” Damon told the media at the UK premiere of “Invictus,” as cited by the aforementioned movie-oriented publication. One might as well note that, while in the past the star said he was too old to do a fourth film as Jason Bourne, he still speaks of the franchise as if still a part of it.
Whether this idea might actually work is an entirely different matter, SlashFilm goes on to say. “Damon was speaking to Empire magazine who felt his words ‘contradict recent whispers that tentative feelers have been put out to a major director to fill Greengrass’ shoes,’ but to my ears, they consolidate those claims. What’s most interesting about this is Damon’s notion of a prequel being a stop-gap before he and Paul Greengrass return and reunite for another Big Boy Bourne adventure. Is he really expecting this odd sequence of movies will happen? Or just trying to somehow draw our notion of a coming reboot into an overall scheme that doesn’t close the book on his own Bourne movies?” SlashFilm asks.
As per the same publication, either Greengrass will return to the franchise or Damon will, but they will never work together again. For more developments on this, keep an eye on this space though, useless to say, it’ll be some time before something new comes up since the film doesn’t even have a script ready.