While previous summers featured weekends of blockbuster after blockbuster sitting on top of one another fighting for the number one spot at the box office, this summer has been quite different. With the exception of one or two titles, including Marvel's The Avengers, the hotter months of 2012 have largely been disappointing thus far and we often find ourselves waiting multiple weeks in between the major releases. Where this works to Hollywood's advantage, however, is that said major releases can now spread out and try to get as far away from their competition as possible. And that's exactly what Universal is doing with The Bourne Legacy.
Deadline reports that the upcoming sequel, which sees Jeremy Renner replacing Matt Damon as the face of the franchise, has been pushed back one week from August 3rd to August 10th. The move was made simply so that the picture could have some breathing room against both Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, which is expected to be at least the second biggest movie of the year, and Len Wiseman's Total Recall, whichBourne was scheduled to go head-to-head against. The move also works in the studio's best interest because it allows for a full week more of advertising, which is precious because of the London Olympics (which will be broadcast by NBC which owned by the same company as Universal). The production is also stressing that the date change has nothing to do with the reshoots that were done from June 8th to the 14th in Vancouver.
The Bourne Legacy will now be going up against Jay Roach's The Campaign and David Frankel's Hope Springs. In addition to Renner, the upcoming spy thriller also stars Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacey Keach, Joan Allen, Oscar Isacac, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn and David Strathairn. Tony Gilroy, who wrote the script for the first three Bourne movies, is serving as director on this sequel. For more about the movie, head over to our Blend Film Database.
