Back when Matt Damon walked away from the Bourne franchise, having delivered three successful chapters in the espionage saga, Jeremy Renner was introduced as Aaron Cross, in hopes of continuing the on-screen adventures. The Bourne Legacy told another story about another spy from a similar program as Bourne, and we watched as the events of Aaron Cross's tragic path were affected by movements made by Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) in The Bourne Ultimatum. A shared universe, of sorts, was born -- no pun intended -- and talk has hummed along that Damon and Renner might one day share the same screen as part of a massive Bourne team up.
Well, it's likely time to let that chatter die down and fade away. Earlier this week, we spoke with longtime Bourne producer Frank Marshall about the recent Jason Bourne, as the summer blockbuster prepares to hit DVD and Blu-ray, and I asked him if they were still actively pursuing a team-up movie with Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner. And he bluntly replied:
No, not really. I think they are separate characters, and I don't think we're ever going to see them together.
We've been covering this possibility ever since Jeremy Renner opted to continue the Bourne legacy in The Bourne Legacy back in 2012. And both actors have done what they could to keep the door open to the possibility, even as Renner found himself getting busier and busier with Mission: Impossible movies and Marvel gigs.
Frank Marshall has addressed this situation before. Almost a year ago, he spoke about both of the characters getting their own sequels, saying at the time that they were "two different projects, two different films." But that was before Universal and the Bourne team got a look at what audiences thought of Matt Damon being back in the role for Jason Bourne. And the box office numbers suggest that audiences -- especially domestic crowds -- prefer Damon at the head of the Bourne movie. This past summer's reunion project, which brought Damon and director Paul Greengrass into the fold for one more story, outgrossed The Bourne Legacy on every level. Moving forward, the Bourne series would be wise to keep its focus on Damon-led stories.
So what do you think? Is Frank Marshall's statement the nail in the coffin of any dream Damon-Renner team up in the Bourne universe? Is that a wise decision on the part of the Bourne brass? Or do you still think there's an intriguing story left to tell that finds Jason Bourne and Aaron Cross joining forces against what's left of the crooked bureaucrats at Treadstone and Blackbriar? Weigh in below.
