It’s official. Matt Damon will soon be reprising his role as Jason Bourne.
After leaving the franchise for the fourth installment of the film, Damon, 44, confirmed that he will be returning for the new film released in 2016.
Whether intentional or not, the announcement was revealed on Friday night as Damon and close friend Ben Affleck walked the red carpet at the Project Greenlight Season 4 event. In between talking about their HBO series and being physically fit, Affleck let the news slip.
“Well, [Damon’s] going to be doing a Bourne movie next fall when I’ve just completely lost any semblance of physical fitness. So….,” Affleck told E! News.
When E! News asked for clarification, Damon said, “Yes, next year. It’ll be in 2016 when the movie will actually come out. [Director] Paul Greengrass is going to do another one and that’s all I ever said. I just needed him to say yes.”
This is big news since Greengrass, who directed The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, said that he had no interest in directing another Bourne film.
“In the end I felt I had given it my all in two films I’m very proud of and didn’t want to make another if I didn’t believe it could be as good if not better,” he said. “I couldn’t come up with an idea, and the business reality of franchises is that when a studio has a Bourne, they’re obliged to make one every couple of years. I discovered in my heart I didn’t have another one in me.
“The best thing was to move on,” he added, “have someone else come in and make their mark on it.”
Luckily for fans, something must have changed Greengrass’ mind.
The 2016 film will be the fifth movie in the franchise inspired by Robert Ludlum’s novels. Damon appeared in the first three films and Jeremy Renner, as Aaron Cross, appeared in the fourth, The Bourne Legacy.