Update on THE BOURNE LEGACY: Door Still Open for Jason Bourne to Return Down the Road

As a fourth installment in the Bourne series takes shape, writer Tony Gilroy leaves the door open for Matt Damon to return as Jason Bourne should a fifth movie come about. Gilroy, who has written the new script and all three previous ones, will be directing The Bourne Legacy

The trilogy seemed to come to a fairly complete ending on all accounts. Universal still wants to capitalize on the potential for more films based on the popular Robert Ludlum character though. As the process started to begin without his involvement, director Paul Greengrass (last two Bourne films) withdrew completely. Matt Damon also said he would not return in a show of support.

Gilroy's script keeps open the plausibility that Jason Bourne could still return at some point. According to Deadline, the government cover ups and black ops missions are far from over.

He's creating new characters and will tell a different story about the parent company behind the murderous shadow government operation Treadstone, which brainwashed covert agents like Bourne and turned them into ruthless killers. I'm told the new protagonist will be another agent and probably a killer who went through experiences similar to Bourne's or the character played by Clive Owen in the original Bourne. The plot accepts everything that has happened in the trilogy and factors it into the storyline.

Tony's brother, Dan Gilroy, also worked on the script. The two began working on Legacy after meeting with representatives of the Ludlum estate. Initially Tony was only working on a basic story idea and had no plans to direct but came up with a fresh angle, one that acknowledges all that has happened in the trilogy to date.

"Matt was completely not an option, and personally I couldn't imagine trying to replace him. All the conspiratorial politics aside, these are very un-cynical, honest movies, and I don't know another actor who brings more integrity and dignity, and a lack of cynicism to his work than Matt."

"I'm not going to get into the plot, but you saw the other three films, you know everything that happened, and it's not a dream sequence. What I can say is, you thought that was the whole world, but it was a small piece of what was going on. Ultimatum exploded at the end with people arrested. We deal with that as a reality, it has ramifications that echo out into the larger world. And of course, Jason Bourne is still alive and out there in the world. I don't want to go beyond that, because the last thing I need is for every blogger to be second guessing."