377 replies to this topic

[Cody]

Tony Gilroy directing Bourne 4

Universal Pictures is making a deal with Michael Clayton helmer Tony Gilroy to direct a fourth installment of The Bourne Identity. Gilroy was hired to write the script back in June.

This signals that the picture -- tentatively titled The Bourne Legacy -- is on a clear forward track, though it doesn't answer the question of whether Matt Damon will return to reprise his signature character of the amnesiac assassin/agent Jason Bourne. Damon last indicated that he wouldn't come back unless director Paul Greengrass helmed what would have been his third installment, after Greengrass exited the picture in a huff when the studio began developing it while Greengrass and Damon were making Universal's Green Zone. I'm told that Universal plans to make the film, even if it has to replace Damon, who'd be crazy to give up his franchise character and a huge paycheck if the script is any good.

There is every reason to think it will be, since Gilroy's writing has provided the spine for the first three pictures.

[Tarl_Cabot]

Excellent news. I was watching the Bourne Conspiracy footage on youtube today and that game looks like a blast(I'm not a gamer). I'm back in Bourne fanboy mode again. Bring it on!

Bond, get off your !!

[sharpshooter]

Shame about Greengrass, but hopefully Damon is still on board. If he is, I am. I know people will say Bond went on without Connery, but I don't think they should do another without Damon. The series feels complete as it is, and with a new lead and new director, it would feel like a pointless add on.

[SecretAgentFan]

I think Greengrass has given BOURNE everything he can. In fact, Greengrass seems a bit like a one-hit-wonder stylewise. Will he ever be able to make a movie without shaky-cam?

Considering Tony Gilroy - yes, that´s the way to go. I just hope that they will find a creative way to move the story because IMO the story has already been told to its end.

[The Dove]

Excellent news. I was watching the Bourne Conspiracy footage on youtube today and that game looks like a blast(I'm not a gamer). I'm back in Bourne fanboy mode again. Bring it on!

Bond, get off your !!

The Bourne Conspiracy is indeed a GREAT game, Tarl! I was lucky to buy it at a discounted price for a practically brand new game for X-Box 360 at Play N Trade..(lol..Someone obviously did NOT understand it..ahh well their loss is my gain!) The game utilizes a lot of John Powell's score from the Bourne films and I believe that Franka Potente provides the voice for Marie Kreutz (though sadly Matt Damon does NOT provide his voice or image likeness..) ahh well for me anyways it more than satisifies if in fact we never see a Bourne 4 film.

[SecretAgentFan]

Question is... will we see a new BOURNE sooner than a new BOND?

[Simon]

We will definitely see MI-4 before either...

[Loomis]

Tony Gilroy is a great choice for the director's chair. I recently read an early draft of his for THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, which (and while I greatly enjoy Greengrass' film) I found considerably grittier, bolder and more interesting than the finished flick.

Anyway, it seems as though Damon will indeed not be returning for this next one. So who'll play Jason Bourne? Well, nobody. If I understand Gilroy correctly, there won't be a Lazenby to Damon's Connery, but neither will "Jason Bourne" be a codename handed from one agent to another. According to Gilroy: "This is not a reboot or a recast or a prequel. No one's replacing Matt Damon. There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter... this is a stand-alone project.

"The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal. Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive. What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I'm building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy... the world we're making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down the road].

"Everything you saw in the first three films actually happened, and everyone who got into [it] will be rewarded for paying attention. We're going to show you the bigger picture, the bigger canvas. When you see what we're going and see what we're doing it'll be pretty obvious... but Jason Bourne's actvities in the first three films is the immediate trigger."

http://www.ropeofsil...-legacy-details

Dunno about y'all, but that actually sounds pretty cool, if you ask me.

[Harmsway]

Sounds great, actually. I'm delighted that Gilroy is the man in charge, and it sounds as though THE BOURNE LEGACY is going to be spinning off into some interesting directions.

[Loomis]

Sounds great, actually. I'm delighted that Gilroy is the man in charge, and it sounds as though THE BOURNE LEGACY is going to be spinning off into some interesting directions.

Indeed. I'd been expecting either the return of Damon or a new actor cast as David Webb/Jason Bourne or as another agent using the Jason Bourne alias. That THE BOURNE LEGACY will apparently feature no Jason Bourne of any sort or kind is an unexpected and exciting development, and probably unique in franchise history.

[The Shark]

I sincerely hope it'll resemble De Niro's The Good Shepherd more than Michael Clayton, but then I doubt that. Sincerely.

[Harmsway]

I'm not convinced there's a great gulf of quality between THE GOOD SHEPHERD and MICHAEL CLAYTON.

[sharpshooter]

That news changes things. Very interesting. The title, Bourne Legacy, makes more sense now, and Damon’s standing in this series will remain intact. A thread on this forum asks if it is possible to make a James Bond film without James Bond. Well, we’re about to see if a Jason Bourne film can be made without Jason Bourne.

[Loomis]

I sincerely hope it'll resemble De Niro's The Good Shepherd more than Michael Clayton, but then I doubt that. Sincerely.

I didn't care for MICHAEL CLAYTON (and I haven't seen Gilroy's other film as director, DUPLICITY), but I've come to believe that virtually all directors are very hit-and-miss. In my book, no one's as good as his last movie - he's only as good as whatever he's currently making. Both Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass have made non-Bourne films that have almost sent me to sleep, while my post-CASINO ROYALE belief that Martin Campbell had become a master of his craft was shattered by EDGE OF DARKNESS.

Which is a longwinded way of saying that I don't mind the choice of Gilroy as director. I've definitely got a lot of faith in him as writer of the Bourne flicks, and the studio apparently sees him as the key creative architect of the series, commissioning him not only to pen this new script but also a "franchise bible" (whatever that may be) to guide future outings. Like I say, his BOURNE ULTIMATUM screenplay impressed me more than the finished film (and I love the finished film). I feel that the studio and Greengrass took a fairly bold, edgy and grown-up thriller full of intriguing ideas and relatively light on action, expanded the thrills and spills and turned it into a mainstream action blockbuster (albeit a good one). So I'm excited that Gilroy is not only back for more Bourne but has seemingly been given more creative control. And therefore I guess that he might as well also direct THE BOURNE LEGACY.

[Matt_13]

I have no idea how this is going to work out. Will it even be an action film?

[marktmurphy]

Gosh, I don't know how to take that. I like bold new things, and certainly it's hard to think where they could take Bourne's story; so that's good. But also I like ol' JB beating people up using pens and magazines and being generally great at being a no-nonsense commando spy; so they'd need to keep me happy with plenty of that type of thing too.

[Loomis]

I'm sure there'll be plenty of action. I can't see it being just a two-hour talkfest under any circumstances. The character of Jason Bourne may be sitting this one out, but Gilroy and co. still need to entertain their audience.

I also suspect that Julia Stiles will be promoted to main character status (partnered, perhaps, with a disgruntled male Blackbriar/Treadstone agent who'll handle all the thick-ear stuff involving pens and magazines - Edgar Ramirez's character from ULTIMATUM, maybe). And it seems a good bet that Joan Allen will also return.

[Matt_13]

It's definitely an interesting development, and I really am interested in seeing how he plans to go about it. I do hope there is some solid action, and I'm going to bank on there being some high octane car chases, but I think hand to hand combat will be left out of the hands of the main characters (though I would like to think it will still be there).

[Loomis]

Honestly, I'm sure there'll be more action than you can shake a stick at. I don't see why the lack of Jason Bourne would lead anyone to assume that the film will have little or no action. It'll just be different people doing it.

[marktmurphy]

I'm sure there'll be action, but I can't decide what it is about the Bourne films that makes them attractive: is it the nature of Bourne himself or just the way they're shot? I don't know: if it's the former then it might be troublesome. And if they try and just give the action to another character will he (more likely she or they) just become a Bourne replacement? Is Matt Damon the new Peter Sellers? 'Curse of Jason Bourne' anyone?
Could be great; I just can't decide.

[Royal Dalton]

Well, as long as he's not the new Ted Wass...

Anyway, I'm fine with this. I wouldn't be surprised if Damon does play Bourne again at some point, though.

[Loomis]

I think Damon is practically guaranteed to play Bourne again at some point (most probably in a late-in-the-day comeback a la Connery in NSNA, Ford in CRYSTAL SKULL, Willis in DIE HARD 4.0, Stallone in ROCKY BALBOA, etc.), if only because it'd be by far his biggest payday ever (unless in the meantime he gets involved in a new franchise that becomes even more successful than Bourne). We may have to wait twenty years (or more) for it, but his return to the role of Jason Bourne is virtually certain to happen.

[marktmurphy]

Well, as long as he's not the new Ted Wass...

Anyway, I'm fine with this. I wouldn't be surprised if Damon does play Bourne again at some point, though.

Nah; Bourne'll pop up at the end of the film played by Roger Moore.

[DamnCoffee]

It depends how they do it. At the moment I'm not really excited over the whole idea. I'll reserve judgment 'till the trailers.

[jaguar007]

Well, as long as he's not the new Ted Wass...

Anyway, I'm fine with this. I wouldn't be surprised if Damon does play Bourne again at some point, though.

Nah; Bourne'll pop up at the end of the film played by Roger Moore.

Or they will just use old outtakes of Matt Damon and include them in the film.

I think Damon is practically guaranteed to play Bourne again at some point (most probably in a late-in-the-day comeback a la Connery in NSNA, Ford in CRYSTAL SKULL, Willis in DIE HARD 4.0, Stallone in ROCKY BALBOA, etc.), if only because it'd be by far his biggest payday ever (unless in the meantime he gets involved in a new franchise that becomes even more successful than Bourne). We may have to wait twenty years (or more) for it, but his return to the role of Jason Bourne is virtually certain to happen.

I don't know about that. The Bourne movies were certainly popular, but not as popular or iconic as Bond, Indy Jones, Rocky etc. I just don't see people giving a crap about Matt Damon as Bourne 20 years from now.

Live Free or Die Hard was hardly on box office fire compared to the earlier films.

[Matt_13]

Well I definitely think the Bourne films are action classics in their own rights, and are largely responsible for the new direction of Bond. Whether or not they will be revisted with Damon down the road is another issue entirely, because so far with the exception of Rocky Balboa, comback films have kind of been universally terrible. Even in Rocky, the final fight lacks physical impact. I'd hate to see a 60 year old Damon pulling punches.

[Loomis]

The Bourne movies were certainly popular, but not as popular or iconic as Bond, Indy Jones, Rocky etc. I just don't see people giving a crap about Matt Damon as Bourne 20 years from now.

Live Free or Die Hard was hardly on box office fire compared to the earlier films.

Well, Hollywood is currently rebooting, remaking, sequelising and prequelising all sorts of things from twenty years ago that were far less popular and iconic than Bourne (RED DAWN, anyone?), and LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD was still a pretty big hit (and also Bruce Willis' biggest hit in years, I imagine). Indeed, Box Office Mojo informs me that it was the highest-grossing of all the DIE HARDs at the U.S. box office (albeit that if one were to adjust the figures to take account of inflation I suspect that DIE HARD 2 would actually come out on top as the series' biggest earner). At any rate, DIE HARD 5 is apparently in the works, so it seems as though that franchise is still a viable concern.

Also, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, which cost almost half as much to make as QUANTUM OF SOLACE, took some $230 million at the American box office, nearly $30 million more than QUANTUM's Stateside gross, and about $160 million more than the haul achieved by the last Rocky flick.

Sure, Bourne is probably not as iconic as Bond, Indy Jones, Rocky etc. - but give it time. Bourne would seem to be a very lucrative brand, and judging by the history of other franchises it also has long-term potential. And assuming that Damon will still be alive, well and a major star in twenty years, I'm sure that there'll still be quite a bit of interest in seeing another Bourne performance from him. I mean, if people today are buying tickets to watch Michael Douglas play Gordon Gekko again....

[dinovelvet]

This sounds extremely nutty and highly questionable. I don't care about this, er, "franchise" one way or another but I am train wreck fascinated to see what they're going to pull off here. If I'm understanding these cryptic Tony Gilroy comments correctly, this will be the equivalent of making a new Bond movie, calling it "James Bond of the secret service", and then having it be about Felix Leiter. Call me cynical, but isn't this just a bait and switch? Lure people in with the promise of Bourne, and then give them something else? Very strange. How will the marketing sell this one, I wonder.

[Loomis]

This sounds extremely nutty and highly questionable. I don't care about this, er, "franchise" one way or another

No? Personally, I think Bourne is the best-crafted, most intelligent and interesting action franchise, well, ever (or at least next to Bond). These are not the xXx or TRANSPORTER flicks we're talking about here. And apart from being fine films, the Bournes have proved as influential as DIE HARD was in the 1990s.

but I am train wreck fascinated to see what they're going to pull off here.

Then you're going to have a field day, because it seems that not one but two "world of Jason Bourne" spinoffs are in the pipeline. Bourne will (not) be back not only on the big screen but also on the small, for the creator of CSI is reportedly developing a show for CBS entitled TREADSTONE, which will presumably follow the exploits of Bourne's old black ops outfit.

http://www.newsinfil...-bourne-legacy/

[Tarl_Cabot]

This sounds extremely nutty and highly questionable. I don't care about this, er, "franchise" one way or another

No? Personally, I think Bourne is the best-crafted, most intelligent and interesting action franchise, well, ever (or at least next to Bond). These are not the xXx or TRANSPORTER flicks we're talking about here. And apart from being fine films, the Bournes have proved as influential as DIE HARD was in the 1990s.

but I am train wreck fascinated to see what they're going to pull off here.

Then you're going to have a field day, because it seems that not one but two "world of Jason Bourne" spinoffs are in the pipeline. Bourne will (not) be back not only on the big screen but also on the small, for the creator of CSI is reportedly developing a show for CBS entitled TREADSTONE, which will presumably follow the exploits of Bourne's old black ops outfit.

http://www.newsinfil...-bourne-legacy/

Oh please make them stop.

Just make Bourne 4-5-6 please. No need to dilude the product any further with spin offs(see Star Wars-Indy for moral hazzard)