Bourne producer says Renner-led sequel is “moving forward” despite Matt Damon’s potential return

Frank Marshall, producer of the Bourne films and thus the winner in this story no matter what happens, told The Hollywood Reporter that a sequel to the Jeremy Renner-starring Bourne Legacy is still “moving forward,” despite yesterday’s news that Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass wanted to return to the franchise and reclaim their rightful amount of the lucrative backend. Because the actors play different characters—though both might as well be named Jason Bourne, you know the drill, super soldiers, etc.—it’s feasible that the movies could co-exist, though the likelihood that Universal would want to confuse the marketplace by releasing two Bourne movies in any sort of proximity to each other seems remote. And since the Damon/Greengrass collaborations have resulted in significantly larger box-office numbers, you can bet which horse the studio will want to put its money on. (They’ve reportedly already agreed to push the Renner movie away from its July, 2016 release slot if a Greengrass/Damon movie would be ready by then.)

They could always combine forces, of course, in a plot that would no doubt involve the two Bournes trying to kill each other (because of a bomb or a girl or something) before eventually joining forces to once again uncover the nefarious plot that made them Jason Bournes in the first place. (Eventually it turns out we’re all Jason Bourne.) It’d be just like that Matrix scene where Neo fights all those other Neos, but with car chases and fabulous European cities. The important thing, producer Frank Marshall wants you to know, is that there will be more Bourne movies—hell, he might even hire Richard Kelly and Jake Gyllenhaal to start working on one just in case those other two fall through.