For years, actor Matt Damon has told the media that, while he was not opposed to returning to the role of Jason Bourne in future Bourne movies, he was still prickly about making the leap back into the role. While it may not be official yet, new reports are speculating that Damon may, indeed, be back to play the title character in the series' next installment.
According to Latino Review, the "real reason" why Bourne 5 was delayed from its August 14, 2015 release date to July 15, 2016 was because Universal Studios wanted to accommodate to the actor's schedule, so that he would, indeed, return for this new installment.
Of course, this is not solidified by the studio at this time, and, in fact, the reason why they pushed the movie back seems so far to be that they could put the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton in its place. A couple months back, there was word that the script for the new movie was being rewriting for unknown reasons. It is possible that one of the reasons was to include Jason into this newest draft.
It should be stressed that, if Damon does come back, he would not be replacing Jeremy Renner, who is already confirmed to star in the movie. Rather, this movie would have them teaming up to fight someone or some organization using their combined skills.
Damon has said in the past that he would only come back to the Bourne franchise if it was guided by director Paul Greengrass, who directed The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, and if they came up with the right story. With Justin Lin set to direct this new movie, it is current that Greengrass is not coming back anytime soon, but it is possible that they put together a story that Damon really dug.
Or, as the Latino Review pointed out, maybe Damon is simply looking for another box office hit, as his last movies, like Elysium, The Monuments Men and Promised Land, while not failures, didn't quite light up the box office as much as was hoped. However, if he came back to the series, it would pretty much be a guaranteed hit for both him and the studio.
Whether or not he is seen in the new Bourne movie, he will be seen in The Zero Theorem sometime this year, and also reportedly has a part in Interstellar as well.
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