Next Bourne to be a Prequel?

The mystery behind plans for a fourth installment of the Jason Bourne series has been as murky as the shadowy operatives' past. While speaking with Empire Online, series star Matt Damon was asked specifically about the project. What he had to say is surprising indeed...

“There’ll probably be a prequel of some kind with another actor and another director before we do another one,” he said, “just because I think we’re probably another five years away from doing it – we’ve got to get a script…”

Ok, Damon's a smart dude, and I believe that he chooses his words very carefully. He's not going to just throw something out there only to have to retract it later. The way he phrases this statement, to me, indicates that he expects to do another Bourne with director Paul Greengrass in a few years. Greengrass recently left the project to pursue other opportunities that had been on the backburner, such as his Bourne-esque spy thriller, Green Zone.

What caught my eye is this idea of a prequel with another director and actor. What would be the point? How young are we talking here? It's not as if Matt Damon is ancient. He can still pass for a man in his 20s if need be, so what would this entail? A teenaged Bourne? Bad idea. I can't believe this will happen. I expect we'll get one or the other. Either Greengrass and Damon return for a 4th film, or we get nothing at all. Or Damon relents on his promise to not work on another film without Greengrass and accepts another high profile director to helm the project. Maybe Doug Liman comes back on board? It's all just speculation at this point, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Personally, I'm kinda hoping they just back off from doing anymore Bournes. It's already such a perfect, mature spy trilogy that I don't want to see it fouled up. The problems this fourth film is already facing are unlike anything the previous three films experienced.