Matt Damon Confirms Bourne 4 Is In Progress

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne

The Bourne trilogy is one of hell of a kick ass set of films, with each film getting progressively more intense and exciting. The character of Jason Bourne is pretty much the blueprint for modern action men (yes, even more than Bond) and will go down in cinematic history as such.

But with The Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass (who helmed the second and third, but not the first), star Matt Damon and everyone else involved made a fantastic part three in the series, one which simultaneously left things ambiguous and yet still closed off the series in an entirely satisfying and fitting way.

But you know that since the three films combined made a few dozen million under a whopping $1 billion worldwide (with the third one alone making over $400 million), that they are going to at least entertain the idea of doing another one (in fact, news came out last year that Universal had bought the complete rights to the Bourne character, as well as first look options on other Robert Ludlum books). With the ambiguous way Ultimatum ended, it has left the door open for them to go back to the series for another go at it.

It was already confirmed last year that another Bourne film was on the way, and that Damon and Greengrass would be returning (after them swearing left, right and center that there wouldn’t be another). But it’s always great to hear it from the horses mouth (so to speak), so via an interview with Parade Magazine Matt Damon confirmed that a Bourne 4 is definitely already being worked on:

Q: Is it official that you’ll return as Jason Bourne for a fourth time?

A: We’re working on it. This time it would be from an original script rather than a book by Robert Ludlum. But the director, Paul Greengrass, is busy and I am too, so we’ll see what happens.

Q: Are you ready to be Bourne again?

A: Listen, when I did the first movie, I was 29 years old. I am 37 now, and after a tough fighting scene, the next day you wake up and feel your body more. That’s just the way it is.

It seems that apart from both Damon and Greengrass working on other things, it’s the fact that Damon is a little bit older than he was when he first played the character back in 2002, that’s a point of concern for him. Clearly the man is in great shape as he showed in Ultimatum (among other films), but it’s true that when you get older, even if your mind is ready for a full day’s physical work, your body might not be.

When I saw The Bourne Ultimatum in the theater, I walked out wholly satisfied with the way they wrapped up the series, leaving you wanting more but at the same time happy that it was the end of the trilogy. But it’s been a couple of years since we saw Jason Bourne on the big screen and I must admit I am now all for a fourth film. There’ve been some good action films since Ultimatum’s release but Bourne always gave us action plus intelligence, and I think another film would not only make serious bank like the first three, but also would be a project welcomed by fans and critics alike.

Of course since this film wouldn’t be based on any of the books by Robert Ludlum (which the first three were), it might not turn out to be as good as the others. It’ll be interesting to see if they will try and replicate the spirit of the first three or if they’ll put an entirely different spin on it. I suspect a combination of the two.

So even though this isn’t an announcement saying Damon and Greengrass have everything worked out and that shooting is going to begin soon, it’s still some sort of confirmation that it is happening – and I’m very pleased.

Do you think there should be a Bourne 4? Or is it best left at just the three?

Source: Parade