Will Matt Damon ever return to the hidden underworld of CIA conspiracies and double-crossing agents? That largely depends on whether the next Jason Bourne movie comes packing a “pretty incredible story.”
Toronto Sun caught up with the Hollywood veteran recently in anticipation of Chinese epic The Great Wall, and it didn’t take long before the conversation veered toward Paul Greengrass’ blistering action series. After capping off their original trilogy of intellectual thrillers with the rather excellent Ultimatum back in 2007, Damon and Greengrass circled back to the series nine years later to craft Jason Bourne, a solid, if unremarkable franchise revival that garnered mixed reviews and a $415 million box office tally.
And though Universal is reportedly keen to push on with a Jason Bourne sequel, which would technically be the sixth entry in the high-octane juggernaut, Matt Damon seems to be hedging his bets, after telling Toronto Sun that he would only consider signing on for another installment if the story piqued his curiosity. Said he: “It would have to be a pretty incredible story to get us all back on the horse.”
One thing worth keeping in mind is the possibility that Universal will opt to recast Bourne a la 007. It’s an idea that has been floated in the past, and considering that Alicia Vikander and Riz Ahmed’s respective characters have each been deemed instrumental in the franchise going forward, the immediate future of Universal’s Jason Bourne saga is still up in the air.
Beyond The Great Wall, Matt Damon is also set to re-team with George Clooney for domestic thriller Suburbicon, while there’s also chatter that Damon will reprise the role of Linus Caldwell for Gary Ross’ female-fronted spinoff, Ocean’s Eight. Look for that one to make a beeline for theaters on June 8th, 2018.