Details Emerge on Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass' Return to 'Bourne'

There can't a story as huge as Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass' return to the Jason Bourne franchise without a whopper of a backstory and a few toes getting stepped on. And apparently it's Jeremy Renner who may have a sore foot if Damon and Greengrass' film moves forward, or as THR puts it “Let's hope Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner don't bump into each other at a restaurant.”

Producer Frank Marshall, who has been backing up Damon's denials for years, has opened up about what's really going on and what it sounds like is things are still in the formative stages.

Marshall: "We're on two tracks. And if this one [with Damon and Paul Greengrass] comes together, great, but they're still just talking."

But if a deal comes together and everybody likes the "strong" direction Greengrass has come up with for another Bourne movie, it would mean Renner and Justin Lin's spinoff sequel to The Bourne Legacy is pushed back while Damon's would go first in the summer of 2016. There is another factor to consider here, as Greengrass is also set to direct Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio's film on '96 Olympic bombing suspect Richard Jewell. If Fox decides to greenlight that we may see his Bourne movie delayed.

Marshall insists that Renner's film is going to happen at some point and is being developed now...

Marshall: "That movie is moving forward. It's still in development. We're working to get a script as soon as possible." 

Ever heard of the "dreaded vote of confidence"? That's what this sounds like to me. The Bourne Legacy did well, but not that well, and if Universal can get Damon back for what audiences will always consider the "true" Bourne movie then why spend money on another? There's also the potential issue in Lin's availability as he's supposed to direct a few episodes of HBO's True Detective.

So there are still a few things to work out but my sense of this is that Universal really wants Damon and Greengrass, and the Renner thing has now become an afterthought. There's a lot of details to get figured out between now and whenever we see Jason Bourne or Aaron Cross on screen again.

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Len Wiseman Directing 'Black Chapter'; Frank Marshall Takes 'The Longest Night'

* As the one responsible for the Underworld movies and part of the Sleepy Hollow producing team, Len Wiseman knows his way around the supernatural genre. He rarely stays away from it for long (remember he directed Live Free or Die Hard), and now he's getting back in with the supernatural thriller, Black Chapter. The story he developed with writer Zak Penn follows an "FBI agent who is drawn into a classified military program that trains its operatives to use paranormal activities.” Let's see if he finds a role for his wife, Kate Beckinsale, as he usually does. [Variety]

* Indiana Jones and Jurassic World producer Frank Marshall is about to direct his first film since 2006's Eight Below. He's agreed to helm real life tale, The Longest Night, adapted from Sean Flynn's GQ article about  “a true-life Coast Guard rescue operation undertaken against the most impossible odds.” Sounds potentially interesting, although Marshall is hardly the most inspiring of filmmakers. We'll see if he's as chatty about this one as he is with the blockbusters he produces. [THR]

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