In an extremely smart move from Universal, the next Bourne movie (which we’re calling Bourne 5 until an official title is announced) has been bumped from August 14th, 2015, to July 15th, 2016. Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 6) is still set to direct the movie, in which Jeremy Renner will reprise his lead role as enhanced secret agent Aaron Cross.
Last month, we heard that Black List scribe Andrew Baldwin was rewriting the script, originally by Sherlock Holmes screenwriter Anthony Peckham, so the release date change may have been a necessity instead of simply a move to increase the thriller’s chances of box office success. Had it stayed in its 2015 slot, Bourne 5 would have arrived one week after Goosebumps, Assassin’s Creed and Point Break, any of which could turn out to have considerable staying power. Now, it’s going up against Ice Age 5.
It’s unknown whether Rachel Weisz has a large role in the sequel as Dr. Marta Shearing, the love interest for Cross in The Bourne Legacy – and we probably won’t find out whether she’s still on board for Bourne 5 until Baldwin finishes up his rewrites.
As always, we’ll keep you posted when we hear more.