Summary
Jeremy Renner outlines his unrealized idea for a Matt Damon team-upJason Bournemovie. Damon first brought his amnesiac assassin character to life in 2002’sThe Bourne Identityand would return for two direct sequels, seemingly concluding the character’s story. After it appeared that Damon was done with the role, Renner took center stage in 2011’sThe Bourne Legacyas Aaron Cross. Renner and director Justin Lin were poised tomakeThe Bourne Legacy 2, but Damon ultimately then reprised his title role and re-teamed with franchise veteran Paul Greengrass for 2016’sJason Bourne.
In a recent interview withJosh Horowitzon theHappy Sad Confusedpodcast, Renner reflects on the unmadeBourne Legacysequel.
The actor reveals that after Damon and Greengrass decided to return, he expressed interest in merging the two characters' stories together, but that obviously didn’t end up coming to fruition. Check out Renner’s comment below when asked about how far he and Lin got into development on theBourne Legacysequel:
“We were getting pretty far, to the point where all of a sudden Greengrass and Damon put one together and that got… Let’s work together! Because we wanted to pivot and try to get both parallel universes together. That was my idea was to get us together. Pit us against each other and then we realize, ‘What are we doing? You and I together can go smash all of them.’ Then you got Bourne and Cross together, you know. That’s a good duo. That would’ve been pretty badass."
Could Jeremy Renner Return To The Bourne Franchise?
Why It Might Be Unlikely
The Bourne Legacywas met with somewhat mixed reviews. The film currently sports a 56% onRotten Tomatoes, the second-worst score of theJason Bournefranchise. The movie was a modest box office success, earning $276.1 million worldwide, but this is the second-lowest of the franchise as well. 2016’sJason Bournealso earned mixed reviews, but was a bigger box office hit at $415.5 million.
84%
93%
$214 million
82%
90%
$290.8 million
92%
91%
$444.1 million
56%
58%
$276.1 million
54%
55%
$415.5 million
Clearly, then, Damon is the more bankable star and his name is largely synonymous with theBournefranchise. While itseems unlikely that Renner would reprise his roleas Cross for a future film, it’s not entirely out of the question. The future of theBournefranchise, as a whole, is somewhat up in the air at the moment, and it’s not clear what direction things will go in.
8 Biggest Differences Between Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne & Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross
The two leading men of the Jason Bourne series appear similar, but are in fact very different. Even in the face of danger, their approaches differ.
AnewBournemovie is in developmentfrom director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), but no story details or casting information has been revealed.Damon has expressed a willingness to return, but nothing is finalized yet, and whether he stars in the film will seemingly depend on the script. While anything is possible, it’s been 12 years since Renner’s crack at theJason Bournefranchise, and the lukewarm reception to the movie means a Cross and Bourne team up might not be on the cards.
Source:Josh Horowitz
Jason Bourne
The Bourne Franchise is an action-thriller series conceived initially by Robert Ludlum in the Bourne novel series. The film adaptations began with The Bourne Identity in 2002 with Matt Damon starring as Jason Bourne, a man who, after regaining his memories, learns that he was a top CIA assassin, with his former employer trying to kill him to tie up loose ends. The mantle eventually was briefly handed over to a new protagonist, Aaron Cross, portrayed by Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legacy. A television show titled Treadstone was created to tell the story of the titular agency behind the program but was canceled after one season.
