The Bourne Legacyseemed to be the start of a new chapter in the movie franchise based on the character created by author Robert Ludlum, but a planned sequel never happened. StarringJeremy Renner, the movie arrived a decade after Matt Damon brought Jason Bourne to cinemas inThe Bourne Supremacy, and introduced Renner as new franchise lead Aaron Cross. Now directorJustin Linhas explained how Damon’s decision to reprise his role in 2016’sJason Bourneultimately prevented Renner’s return.
The Bourne Legacy
During an appearance on theHappy Sad Confusedpodcast, Lin recounted how there had been some exciting work done on a sequel toThe Bourne Legacy, but it was all put to bed when the old team of Damon and director Paul Greengrass decided to come back to the franchise. Lin explained:
“Yep, ‘Bourne’ was one of them. It was after I left for ‘Fast 6’ and [Universal’s] Donna Langley reached out and said, ‘What do you think about ‘Bourne’ and I was like, ‘Oh man!’ and like, Renner’s amazing. And to this day, I still kinda miss what we were working on.
“I think Matt [Damon] was done [with the franchise] at that point. Again, I had a great time working on the script, and getting to know Jeremy Renner was such a perk; he’s such a great guy, a great actor, but also a great human being.
“I think in the middle of doing that], Matt [Damon] and [Paul] Greengrass decided to come back, which is totally cool; that’s their franchise, and I totally understand. But I think the time that I had on it, I think back fondly on it, and there’s actually some stuff in there that I hope to be able to bring to life in other projects cause it was such a great time working with Andrew Baldwin on the script and Jeremy, just hanging out and talking about his character was great.”
Related:Jeremy Renner Reflects on His Near-Death Accident One Year Later, Releases New Single
The Bourne Franchise Could Return Again
Despite it being almost a decade sinceJason Bournehit cinemas to mixed reviews, it seems that you may’t keep a good action hero down. Recently, it was revealed thatMatt Damon is being considered for another return as the characterin a new legacy sequel under the direction of Edward Berger.
Although there have been no further details revealed, it was reported in November 2023 that Damon is first in line to see the script once it is complete, with the hope that he will return as the character once again in a bid to give the saga a better send off his last outing.
There still seems to be a long way to go before we see Jason Bourne again on the big screen, but fans of the franchise will certainly be interested to catch up on Damon’s character after a decade-long absence. However, it seems unlikely that we will ever get to see Renner’s character return again for a second bite of the cherry, even withthe actor getting back to workfollowing his near-fatal snowplow accident in January 2023.
