Matt Damon began his career as super agent Jason Bourne when he was in his early thirties. 14 years later the actor is, well, 14 years older, which means he's not going to be playing the role forever. It's a forgone conclusion at this point that somewhere down the line, somebody is going to get in their head to reboot the Bourne franchise. How does Matt Damon feel about such a thing? He's actually fine with it, he understands how Hollywood works.
Matt Damon was recently in South Korea as part of the promotional tour for Jason Bourne, his fourth movie in the action franchise. While there, the actor made it clear that he doesn't think it's a matter of if, but when, somebody decides to reboot the character, but, according to The Hollywood Reporter, he doesn't have a problem with it. To him, as long as he makes the movies that he's part of great, the rest is fine.
[I'm] definitely going to be replaced some day by some new young Jason Bourne. That happens to everybody and they reboot these things, and that's totally fine. The only control I can exercise is over the ones that I'm part of. I'm the curator of them as long as I'm involved and that's why I battled so hard to make sure that we got the same creative people [including director Paul Greengrass] to get involved in this one.
Matt Damon has spoken before about the importance of the Jason Bourne character for his career. If he felt a bit of ownership of the role at this point, that wouldn't be surprising, yet that doesn't seem to be the case. Instead, he's more than willing to let it go and let somebody else take a shot with it down the road. These days no movie is safe from the Hollywood reboot machine. If it was successful, and is more than about 10 years old, it's prime for another take. The Bourne movies have been far too profitable for somebody to not try remaking them. The actor who will star as the new Jason Bourne, may not be born yet, but it will happen.
Of course, that won't happen until such time as Matt Damon is done with the part. At 45, Damon admits that the physicality of the role was a bit tougher for him than it had been when he filmed The Bourne Identity all those years ago. Still, Jason Bourne is not being billed as the final movie in the franchise, so it's possible that he's not quite done yet. Jeremy Renner is also campaigning for a Bourne Legacy crossover film at some point.
What do you think about the rebooted Bourne universe? Is this one of those franchises that shouldn't be touched, or could they still make great films given enough time between franchises? Let us know if a Bourne Identity reboot would be a personal attack on your childhood.
