Historically, the world of Jason Bourne hasn’t done particularly well without Matt Damon’s involvement. In between “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Jason Bourne,” Universal tried a spin-off story with the Jason Bourne timeline, “The Bourne Legacy,” which sees Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross, another brutal byproduct of the same program Bourne was enlisted into. The film stands as the least successful in the franchise, with any plans for Renner’s character quashed following its release. Besides that, there was also the USA Network show “Treadstone,” which follows agents within the program that molded Bourne and was canceled after one season.
If Damon doesn’t return to the Bourne franchise, there’s a chance that Universal may look for someone else to become the spy that had desk jockeys regularly gasping and proclaiming, “My god, that’s Jason Bourne.” Having someone else take on the part might be a risk, but it’s no different to whoever will take over as the next James Bond. The curiosity of whether someone else can do as good a job as their predecessor, or even better, will always draw in an audience, but that move might be ages away from getting made.
Here’s hoping Damon does come back for another round and doesn’t have too much trouble with car chases and close-quarter confrontations. It shouldn’t be too hard for him. As is made abundantly clear, he remembers. He remembers everything.
