As a result of 20th Century Fox re-arranging its release slate for the next couple of years, the untitled Bourne sequel set up at Universal is making a move. The fifth chapter in the Bourne series will now be delayed by a further two weeks, shifting its initial release from July 15th to July 29th, 2016. Filling a prime slot vacated by Matt Reeves’ next Planet Of The Apes sequel – which will now open in July 2017 – the next entry in the amnesiac spy saga is destined to reunite franchise alums Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon.
After years of the duo refusing to consider another sequel, they eventually reached a decision to resurrect Jason Bourne and Damon himself broadcast the news on his Project Greenlight show. Director Greengrass and leading man Damon originally exited the series following the third instalment, The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007. Despite Universal’s enthusiasm to continue forward with further sequels, certain issues bubbling around that film’s production – namely, Tony Gilroy’s script – alienated the pair.
Nevertheless, this led to the Jeremy Renner-led spinoff, The Bourne Legacy, which was written and directed by Gilroy and opened to mixed reviews. In spite of the less-than-stellar critical reaction, it still wasn’t the financial bomb people had predicted. A $276 million worldwide gross on a $125 million isn’t record-breaking certainly, but it recouped its cost and then some.
With a release date secured, attention on the project will now turn to nailing down a script. The as-yet untitled pic will mark the first entry in the entire series not to involve writer Tony Gilroy. Possibly not included due to Damon’s public denunciation of the screenwriter, the writing credits will be split three ways on the fifth movie between Damon, Greengrass and Christopher Rouse. Editor Rouse has collaborated with Greengrass on every project since Supremacy, and the forthcoming Bourne sequel will mark his first foray into a writing relationship with the filmmaker.