Tony Gilroy will direct THE BOURNE LEGACY

[JacksonArcher]

Tony Gilroy, who has been a writer on all three Bourne films, including writing and directing the critically acclaimed Michael Clayton starring George Clooney, has been set to direct the next installment in the Bourne franchise, entitled The Bourne Legacy.

Gilroy replaces Paul Greengrass, who directed the last two installments, after he dropped out earlier this year. Gilroy was tapped to direct this film after turning in a draft of the screenplay that the studio liked. The film has been fast-tracked for a 2012 release.

The next big question is whether franchise star Matt Damon will reprise his role as Jason Bourne in the film. Damon went on record saying that he would only return if Greengrass directed, however Gilroy is literally the next best thing and has been attached to the Bourne franchise since the very beginning, and may be able to convince Damon to return.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=70354

Quite frankly, I'm very excited about this news. While I'm against the idea of another Bourne movie, when I knew it was inevitable I gave in. I was devastated when I learned that Greengrass wouldn't direct, but Gilroy is literally the next best thing- his directorial debut Michael Clayton was stunning and he's been involved with the Bourne franchise since its inception. I don't know anybody else more suited to direct this movie than Gilroy.

Now I just really hope he can convince Matt Damon to come back.

 

[watermelony2k]

Nice -- looks like the franchise is in safe hands, despite my reservations about continuing a series that had a perfectly executed ending in the last installment.

Everything went better than expected!

 

[ManOnTheWave]

Gilroy's a pretty good choice. I have no doubt a Bourne film by him will be quality. I hope he can get Damon to do it.

 

[Goliath]

That does sound like encouraging news--the next best thing, as you say. And Michael Clayton was a pretty good movie. I would be willing to give a fourth Bourne film a shot, with Gilroy at the helm.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Hypothetically, if Damon won't come back, who ought to take his place?

 

[Aragorn]

^ Mark Ruffalo?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Hypothetically, if Damon won't come back, who ought to take his place?

I'd say Chris Pine, but he's already playing Jack Ryan, so I doubt he would take two somewhat similar roles so close together.

Maybe Chris O'Donnell when he's on hiatus from NCIS:LA? Same age, similar look and build, some action experience. Mark Wahlberg or Damon's buddy Ben Affleck could also credibly pull it off, I think.

 

[T'Baio]

Geez, JA, do you have to work "Inception" into everything!?!

 

[Captain Craig]

I'm up for more Bourne, especially with Damon if they can get him.
Really looking forward to seeing Damon in the True Grit remake. He looks great in the trailer I've seen.

Anyway, with MI:4 filming, Bond on hiatus, a Salt sequel still in the air glad to know another Bourne is lurking.

 

[Gaith]

Damon said in a Charlie Rose interview for Green Zone a few months ago that he thought the best way to do a sequel would be to wait ten years, then check up on the character and see what he's been up to. Sorta like Before Sunset, but with spies, I guess. Sounds to me like the ideal way to go also.

Yadda - studio - money - yadda, but I hope Damon won't do a Greengrass-less sequel unless he sees an excellent script up front. Failing that, recasting the role would be disastrous. The only good third option I can think of is to take another, non-amnesiac Treadstone spy, and do a story about him/her - two amnesiac spies would be rather tough to swallow.

 

[Aragorn]

Jason Bourne isn't even is real name, so...

SAMUEL L. JACKSON: "Ice Cube, you're the new Bourne."

 

[Captaindemotion]

I think they created a near-perfect trilogy, with a clear conclusion. I'm not sure that there's any need to go any further with the series. But if they must and if Greengrass isn't to return, then Gilroy seems the obvious choice to replace him.

Damon will be a lot harder to replace and I'd guess the studio will pay him buckets of money to return as the spy. Here's hoping that Gilroy's involvement coaxes him back.

 

[Harvey]

Gilroy is the best choice of a replacement, but if the series doesn't retain Matt Damon, I don't see the point. Hopefully he signs on, or the project dies without him.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I hope this also mean the shaky cam wont be a prevalent as it was in the sequels, god that was annoying at times.

 

[sidious618]

I'd like it if they went back to the feeling of The Bourne Identity when it was more spy-like as opposed to outright action.

 

[Aragorn]

You know what? There are a couple books out there about Bourne that they could use the storylines for another movie -- The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

 

[Captaindemotion]

So it seems that the role won't be recast. But neither will Damon return. The sequel won't be a reboot, it will be set in the same universe/ continuity of the first three but will focus on other characters.

http://www.moviehole.net/201026880-damon-wont-be-back-for-bourne-4

I'm glad that Bourne isn't being played by Ice Cube, Val Kilmer or George Lazenby but I'm not sure that we need to know much more about this fictional universe than we already know. The Bourne world is pretty much like our own world - Bourne himself was the hook.

Why not just adapt more Robert Ludlum books and modernise them the way they did with these ones? God knows he has a huge back catalogue.

 

[Gaith]

^ Did I call it, or what?

The only good third option I can think of is to take another, non-amnesiac Treadstone spy, and do a story about him/her - two amnesiac spies would be rather tough to swallow.

Nailed it.

As for whether another spy'll be interesting, well, that'll be the test - but with 007 scurrying back to fantasyland with this absurd Quantum cabal, I'm curious to see how "real-world" based the new movie'll be. And it looks as though this movie might actually get made.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

So it seems that the role won't be recast. But neither will Damon return. The sequel won't be a reboot, it will be set in the same universe/ continuity of the first three but will focus on other characters.

http://www.moviehole.net/201026880-damon-wont-be-back-for-bourne-4

I'm glad that Bourne isn't being played by Ice Cube, Val Kilmer or George Lazenby but I'm not sure that we need to know much more about this fictional universe than we already know. The Bourne world is pretty much like our own world - Bourne himself was the hook.

Why not just adapt more Robert Ludlum books and modernise them the way they did with these ones? God knows he has a huge back catalogue.

Well, I guess 'The Bourne Legacy' makes sense in that Bourne's exploits are the catalyst for the events of this film, but it's still kind of weird having a Bourne film with no Jason Bourne. I don't know if you can keep the Bourne title viable after one film though without having a Bourne in it.

I don't see what the big deal is with recasting, myself. Yeah, it's Damon's signature role, but if you get a good actor and a good script people will get over the change. Oh, well.

 

[JacksonArcher]

This was probably done specifically to avoid recasting. Verses having another person take on the Jason Bourne role, which would have invited plenty of vitriol from fans and causal movie-goers, you just don't bother to feature Jason Bourne at all and try and appease audiences that way with an entirely new character and story.

However, with that said, I'm not entirely convinced by this approach at all. As Captaindemotion said, Jason Bourne was the hook to these movies. A big part of the reason why I enjoyed these movies so much was because of Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. I understand why they would call it The Bourne Legacy and I can even see how they would go about structuring the story but I just find it really weird that they're making a Bourne movie, with Bourne in the title, and... it won't feature Jason Bourne.

My anticipation for this movie has gone down considerably, but then again it would have had it featured another actor in the Jason Bourne role. I guess Tony Gilroy does instill me with some confidence, but on the other hand Matt Damon was always going to be a "make it or break it" type of deal with this film, at least for me.