Matt Damon Gives a ‘Bourne 5’ Update, Teases Big Action Sequences

Here’s what we know: Bourne 5 is happening with director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon returning — both having previously sworn off the series unless they could find another good story to tell about Jason Bourne. Apparently they found one, along with a few good co-stars and…that’s all we know. Damon himself has a few updates about the upcoming sequel, including where the Bourne 5 picks up and what we can expect from some of the big action scenes.

In an interview with Variety, Damon says they’ve been filming Bourne 5 since September and they’re “about halfway through.” He also offers a few small details about the opening sequence and a big third-act action setpiece:

We’re, like, probably about halfway through. We started in September but they’re going dark for most of December and cutting basically the first two acts. And then we have the third act and then whatever we owe from the first two acts…We were in Tenerife, which is supposed to be Athens. It would be like a nighttime riot scene to kind of start the movie. And then England, Berlin a little bit for about a week, and a little bit in D.C. Then we’re going to Vegas for the third act…Big car chase on the strip.

As you can see, Damon clearly isn’t into keeping lots of secrets. He seems very direct about what they’re up to in the untitled sequel. Speaking of which, one of our biggest questions has been how they’ll address the lapse between The Bourne Ultimatum and Bourne 5. The actor says the movie will pick up with Jason Bourne in real time:

You’ll find the character — like “The Bourne Ultimatum,” the third act actually in the movie dovetails with the third act of “The Bourne Supremacy.” So technically when the Bourne character disappears, it’s still 2004. So when this next one comes out in ’16, it will have been 12 years — in movie years — that the character as been off the grid. So what’s happened in those intervening years gives you a story.

We’re still not entirely sure what that story is, but apparently it involves a riot and a car chase in Vegas. Honestly, he doesn’t need to tell us anything else. We’re so there.

Julia Stiles is reprising her role as Nicky Parsons, along with new co-stars Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, Riz Ahmed and Scott Shepherd, with Damon’s Ocean’s trilogy co-star Vincent Cassel appearing as the new antagonist.

Bourne 5 hits theaters on July 29, 2016.