Jason Bourne 6 In The Works & Universal Wants Matt Damon Back
Roll up your newspapers and get your freshly sharpened pencils at the ready. The expert assassin with everyday objects, Jason Bourne, could soon be spotted out in the open again, with "All Quiet on the Western Front" director Edward Berger at the helm. Deadline reports that the filmmaker is currently in talks to add a brand-new installment to the Jason Bourne franchise, taking over from director Paul Greengrass, who worked on three of the four core Bourne movies, ending with "Jason Bourne" in 2016.
The only question is, will the star who has played Bourne since 2002 be back to dodge surveillance cameras and pummel earpiece-wearing assets into the ground as well? Deadline's sources confirm that once a script is complete, Matt Damon, who played the spy with a spotty memory four times, will be offered to come back for a fifth, but that's all dependent on it hitting the right notes for the star.
It's not that wild of an idea for Damon to dive back into the role, given that even after his last outing with the character, he was considering returning to Bourne further down the line if the offer was there. Speaking to The Guardian following the release of "Jason Bourne," Damon said, "My guess is it will be a while before we'll even get around to doing another one. They might reboot me before I bow out."
Could Universal deliver a new Bourne movie without Matt Damon?
Historically, the world of Jason Bourne hasn't done particularly well without Matt Damon's involvement. In between "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Jason Bourne," Universal tried a spin-off story with the Jason Bourne timeline, "The Bourne Legacy," which sees Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross, another brutal byproduct of the same program Bourne was enlisted into. The film stands as the least successful in the franchise, with any plans for Renner's character quashed following its release. Besides that, there was also the USA Network show "Treadstone," which follows agents within the program that molded Bourne and was canceled after one season.
If Damon doesn't return to the Bourne franchise, there's a chance that Universal may look for someone else to become the spy that had desk jockeys regularly gasping and proclaiming, "My god, that's Jason Bourne." Having someone else take on the part might be a risk, but it's no different to whoever will take over as the next James Bond. The curiosity of whether someone else can do as good a job as their predecessor, or even better, will always draw in an audience, but that move might be ages away from getting made.
Here's hoping Damon does come back for another round and doesn't have too much trouble with car chases and close-quarter confrontations. It shouldn't be too hard for him. As is made abundantly clear, he remembers. He remembers everything.