Apparently Universal is putting the planned sequel to The Bourne Legacy, which saw Jeremy Renner step in for Matt Damon in an attempt to keep the franchise alive, on the backburner as the studio has begun negotiations with Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum) and Matt Damon to return for what would be Damon’s fourth film in the franchise and Greengrass’ third.
The report comes from Deadline, which says Universal intends to make the reteam the next Bourne, stepping in front of the spinoff sequel, which was previously assumed to be occupying a July 16, 2016 release date. It sounds as if that date will now go to this Greengrass and Damon sequel while a new Renner film, with Justin Lin directing, is still assumed to be in the works.
There’s no word on how the story will play out, but I would expect there to be some sort of crossover with Damon’s Bourne and Renner’s Aaron Cross. Over at The Playlist, they suggest this was the whole reason the fifth film in the franchise was delayed a year, after Damon started showing interest and was open to the possibility of returning, but only with the right story and director approval.
