Is Matt Damon returning for the next installment of the Bourne franchise as Jason Bourne or not?
Don’t worry, we’re gonna try and answer that one for you. It is just that there have been so many conflicting reports in the media lately regarding the next film, it’s hard to know what to think.
For example, on Friday, Indiewire.com ran the headline, “Rumor: Matt Damon Will Return For ‘Bourne 5’ After All” but the producers of the show have denied that.
Executive producer, Frank Marshall, told The Hollywood Reporter that the rumors “simply aren’t true,” which upset all those Bourne enthusiasts who were hoping Matt Damon would be returning for “Bourne 5.”
The sequel, which was initially based on the series of novels by Robert Ludlum, is going to focus on Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legac y.
It also seems that the next Bourne film is having problems sticking to schedule. Universal Pictures announced that the release date for it has been moved back from August 2015 to July 2016!
Marshall also spoke to THR about the speculation surrounding Matt Damon’s return as Jason Bourne, as well as the new release date:
“I talk to Justin all the time and the script is not ready. It’s a summer movie, and if we don’t start pre-production now, we can’t make next summer. Therefore, it’s a wise decision to move to 2016.”
Even though Damon has said previously that he was open to starring in another Bourne movie, if you go by Frank Marshall’s words, it doesn’t look likely at this time.
Paul Greengrass, who directed the sequels, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum , told Deadline in December:
“I can’t speak for Matt , but I agonized for a long period of time about it. In the end I felt I had given it my all in two films I’m very proud of and didn’t want to make another if I didn’t believe it could be as good if not better.”