Tony Gilroy Talks About THE BOURNE LEGACY; Confirms Damon Won't Be Involved

Deadline has an update about The Bourne Legacy, the newest entry into the Jason Bourne franchise set up at Universal for a 2012 release. While most of the piece is a retread of information we already knew, there were a few new bits that I felt the need to pass on.

Perhaps most importantly, they confirm that Damon won't actually appear in this new film, but it will instead be set in the same universe where the events of the trilogy act as a starting point for this separate story. We talked about these possibilities a great deal on last week's GeekTyrant Weekly Podcast, so check out that episode if you're interested in some deeper analysis.

Gilroy, who has written all of the Bourne films so far and will write and direct Legacy, knew he wouldn't have access to Damon to tell this story. He also adds a bit of insight as to where this story will fit in with the mythology created thus far:

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.

Tony Gilroy has directed two feature films so far: Michael Clayton and Duplicity. But since he's been so involved with the Bourne saga from the beginning, there really isn't anyone better to tackle another chapter in this story. I'm glad they aren't bringing Damon back (although there's potential for the character to return in future installments), because I thought The Bourne Ultimatum perfectly bookended the trilogy and wrapped up everything we needed to know. I'm in favor of a new story set in the same universe, so we'll see what Gilroy can bring us in 2012.

What do you think about The Bourne Legacy? Are you for or against the idea?