After nine long years,Matt Damon’s beloved spy will finally return to the big screen whenJason Bournehits theaters on July 29. In the years following 2007’sThe Bourne Ultimatum, the actor said he would only return to the franchise if both he and directorPaul Greengrasscould find the right story to tell, with Universal continuing the franchise in 2012 withThe Bourne Legacy, which centered on a different character,Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross. While we don’t exactly know where the franchise will go from here,Matt Damonteased in a new interview that he knows he’ll be replaced by a younger actor, eventually.
2012’sThe Bourne Legacywasn’t exactly a reboot or a continuation of the originalBourne trilogy, but rather an extension of that world. There had been rumors thatJason Bournewould cross over withThe Bourne Legacy, featuring Jason Bourne meeting Aaron Cross, but those rumors were quickly shot down.The Hollywood Reporterreveals that, during a promotional tour in South Korea,Matt Damonrevealed that he’s “fine” with being replaced some day.
“(I’m) definitely going to be replaced some day by some new young Jason Bourne. That happens to everybody and they reboot these things, and that’s totally fine. The only control I can exercise is over the ones that I’m part of. I’m the curator of them as long as I’m involved and that’s why I battled so hard to verify that we got the same creative people [including directorPaul Greengrass] to get involved in this one.”
Matt Damon first becameJason Bournein 2002’sThe Bourne Identity, based on the iconic novel series by the late authorRobert Ludlum. The actor, who turns 46 later this year, admitted that it isn’t as easy to perform in these intense action scenes but he’s still “very excited” to play Jason Bourne again, a role which had a “huge impact” on his life and career. Here’s what he had to say about filming these action scenes, 14 years after he first took the role.
“It’s difficult when you’re 45 compared to when you’re 29, but you still have to run as fast as you can. That part was a challenge but to get to revisit the people was wonderful. But I said, let’s smell the roses as we say and appreciate that we get to be here together and make sure we have fun. You’ll see what you’ve seen before [in the upcoming film] and will recognize it as a Jason Bourne movie but it feels new and of the world we’re living in today.”
He also teased that the Las Vegas car chase, which we saw part of innew clipsreleased today, is “bigger than anything we’ve done” in the past three movies. Universal has yet to confirm plans for an action packed sequel toBourne 5, but if this installment fares well at the box office, it’s certainly possible a sequel will come together. As for whenMatt Damonmay be replaced asJason Bourne, that’s anybody’s guess for now, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted with more on this iconic franchise.
