Bourne 5

Jason Bourne has a new nemesis to stab with pencils and swat with rolled-up magazines and desk lamps and whatnot.

It’s been eight years since Jason Bourne delivered his final ultimatum. That’s a long time between movie sequels. (What’s that? A Bourne movie that didn’t actually involve Jason Bourne? Nah, I’m pretty sure that never happened. Who would do such a thing?) And that long time is exactly why Bourne is finally coming back for a new movie starring Matt Damon (and not Jeremy Renner) and directed by Paul Greengrass.

Paul Greengrass’ upcoming fifth installment in the Bourne franchise continues to grow an impressive cast. Joining a returning Matt Damon are Julia Stiles and Alicia Vikander, while Viggo Mortensen was recently rumored to be in talks for a role as well. The latest big name to join the lineup is legendary actor and career curmudgeon Tommy Lee Jones.

Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon are reuniting for the upcoming fifth Bourne film, and they’re bringing a familiar face with them. Julia Stiles, who appeared in the first three Bourne films as CIA agent Nicky Parsons, has signed on to reprise her role for the fifth. In addition, Universal also has their sights set on Viggo Mortensen to play the villain in the upcoming sequel.

Alicia Vikander has been acting for several years now, but it was only with her recent roles in Ex Machina and Son of a Gun that she finally earned some major attention. Audiences are about to get even more Vikander, as the actress is being targeted for two major upcoming films: the big screen version of the hit video game Assassin’s Creed, as well as the fifth installment in the Bourne franchise.

Currently there are two entirely different ‘Bourne’ franchises in the works in Hollywood. The first is the actual Bourne series (let’s call it Bourne Classic), with Matt Damon returning to the role of mentally-scarred super-spy Jason Bourne alongside director Paul Greengrass. The second is the sequel to 2012’s ‘The Bourne Legacy’ (a.k.a. Diet Bourne), which kept the franchise alive after Damon and Greengrass left by replacing Bourne with Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross, another traumatized government operative on the run. Universal previously planned to continue Cross’ adventures in a sequel directed by Justin Lin, but when Damon and Greengrass recently announced they would return for another ‘Bourne’ film (due in theaters on July 29, 2016) the second Cross movie was delayed.

As we reported back in September, Universal has been planning a new 'Bourne' film with Paul Greengrass returning to the director's chair and Matt Damon returning to the role of Jason Bourne. The thing is, we hadn't heard anything official from Damon himself ... until now. The actor finally broke his silence in a recent interview to confirm his return to the 'Bourne' franchise.

Well that didn't last long, did it? With the conclusion of the original 'Bourne' trilogy, director Paul Greengrass said there wasn't really anywhere else for Jason Bourne to go in the franchise, hence the Jeremy Renner spinoff 'The Bourne Legacy.' But it looks like Greengrass and star Matt Damon have come up with an idea to put Jason Bourne back into action.

Recently 'Bourne 5' was delayed almost an entire year from August 14, 2015 into the more prime real estate of July 15, 2016. Could it be the real reason was to accommodate original star Matt Damon's return to the series? That's the latest rumor.

In a move that shouldn't surprise too many people, Universal announced that the sequel to 'The Bourne Legacy,' the untitled 'Bourne 5,' has been delayed to 2016. The film, the fifth in the long-running and widely liked franchise, was originally set to arrive in theaters on August 14, 2015. Now, it is set to open on July 15, 2016.