14 DAY TRIAL // Whether Matt Damon or his loyal fans like it or not, Universal is making another “Bourne” movie. The studio is now in talks with various actors for the part and, as it turns out, Jake Gyllenhaal of “Prince of Persia” is also in the running.
Last we heard of the fourth “Bourne” film, Tony Gilroy had been hired to write the script and to direct the upcoming film, which is yet to be named but that is believed to mark a departure from tradition by setting up a new hero and plot.
Deadline is now reporting that Universal has already met with a bunch of actors for the part and the list would include, among others, Jake Gyllenhaal (who’s proved he can do action with “Prince of Persia”) and Garrett Hedlund, who was introduced to the larger public with “TRON: Legacy.”
“The hot role for young actors right now is the lead in The Bourne Identity spinoff that will start production this fall with Tony Gilroy directing his script for Universal,” Deadline says.
As of now, fans have nothing more to go by than a list of names but even this is more than enough to confirm that, indeed, Damon is not coming back – just in case there were still some who had hopes he would.
“Here are the names I’ve heard have met with Gilroy or are otherwise in the mix: Joel Edgerton, Josh Hartnett, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Paul Dano, Michael Pitt, Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Luke Evans, Alex Pettyfer, Taylor Kitsch, Benjamin Walker,” Deadline says.
“Gilroy will pare the list quickly. Several of the actors might have availability issues,” the same e-zine notes.
As of now, fans of the franchise seem to be divided as to the names attached as lead. Many agree though that Gyllenhaal, Fassbender or Kitsch would do a wonderful job.
Even more want Matt Damon back, even if that goes against what both Damon and Universal want: without Matt, there really can’t be a “Bourne” movie, even if it’s a spinoff, is called by another name and has another guy as the hero, they say.