Jeremy Renner’sThe Bourne Legacynever got a sequel, despite the fact that the franchise continued after it, and there’s a fairly simple reason why. Matt Damon is the biggest star of theBournefranchise of movies, mainly because he played the titular Jason Bourne in four of the five spy thrillers. However, betweenThe Bourne Ultimatumand 2016’sJason Bourne, Jeremy Renner took his place as the franchise’s leading super spy. Despite starting what was effectively a new way for the franchise to move forward without Damon,The Bourne Legacynever got a sequel.
On paper,The Bourne Legacyshould have been a massive hit. TheBournefranchise was one of the biggest action series in cinema, and it almost seemed like a spinoff movie was inevitable. Renner was also a great choice to be a leading action star, as he had just starred in wildly successful films likeThe Avengers,Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, andThe Town. In spite of all it had going for it, however,The Bourne Legacy 2never happened, even though Jeremy Lin was set to direct it. There’s a fairly simple reason Renner never got hisBournesequel: Matt Damon.
Renner’s Bourne Legacy Sequel Didn’t Happen Because Matt Damon Returned For Bourne 5
The Bourne Franchise Prioritized Damon’s Jason Bourne Over Renner’s Aaron Cross
Jeremy Lin, who would have directed Renner’sBournesequel if it had been confirmed, explainedwhyThe Bourne Legacy 2was never made. According to Lin,The Bourne Legacywas scrapped after Matt Damon agreed to come back for the fifth movie in the series,Jason Bourne.
“I think in the middle of [writingThe Bourne Legacy 2], Matt [Damon] and [Paul] Greengrass decided to come back, which is totally cool; that’s their franchise, and I totally understand."
Thereason Renner replaced Damon in theBournemoviesin the first place was because both Damon and director Paul Greengrass felt that the franchise had run its course. However, both Damon and Greengrass later decided there was one more story to tell with the character, and 2016’sJason Bournewas the result of their change of heart.Universal Pictures decided that Damon’s movie would be a safer and more profitable bet than Renner’s, given its mixed reviews and moderate earnings. Damon was, after all, the main actor associated with the franchise, and Greengrass' direction was one of its biggest sources of acclaim.
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The Bourne Legacy 2 Could Have Seen Renner & Weisz Move Out Of Matt Damon’s Shadow
Though it never got a sequel,The Bourne Legacydid set up a continuation for Renner’s Aaron Cross and Rachel Weisz’s Dr. Marta Shearing. At theend ofThe Bourne Legacy, Cross and Shearing sailed away from Manila and discussed where they should go next.It’s reasonable to assume that the CIA and members of Operation Outcome would have continued tracking Cross and Shearing down in much the same way the CIA tracked Jason and Marie to India inThe Bourne Supremacy. That would have set up a more direct confrontation between Cross and his handlers, and he might have even gone on the offensive.
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The Bourne Legacy’s Aaron Cross may not be as well-known as Jason Bourne, but he was still the stronger of the Bourne franchise’s two heroes.
The ending ofThe Bourne Legacywas so open-ended that it really could have gone in any direction imaginable, which also makes it sting more that it never got a sequel.If Renner had gotten another chance to play Aaron Cross, he could have used the sequel to better define his character and show why he was so well-cast for the role.The Bourne Legacywas criticized for being very similar toThe Bourne Identity, but the sequel could have found its own footing outside of Matt Damon’s shadow. There’s no telling what it would have looked like, butThe Bourne Legacyhad so much potential left.
How Bourne Legacy Compared To Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne Movies
The Bourne Legacy Couldn’t Live Up To The Original Trilogy, But It Was A Promising New Direction For The Franchise
A big reason Universal Pictures decided to stick with Matt Damon over Jeremy Renner is because the latter simply couldn’t live up to the former’s legacy. TheBournemovies - particularly the first three - are some of thebest films Matt Damon has ever made. He was perfectly cast as Jason Bourne, and since they were based on Robert Ludlum’s stellar novels and featured Greengrass' impeccable direction, they were absolute classics.It would have been hard for anyone to live up to Damon’sBournemovies, and Renner probably did better than most other actors would have.
2002
$214,034,224
84%
2004
$290,835,269
82%
2007
$444,100,035
92%
2012
$276,144,750
56%
2016
$415,484,914
54%
Despite being the least successful movie in the franchise financially and second worst critically, there were some very good parts ofThe Bourne Legacy. Jeremy Renner is a great action movie star, and he brought life into the character of Aaron Cross. The movie’s action scenes - while they couldn’t fully keep up with previous entries - were more than serviceable, andThe Bourne Legacyturned out to be a fairly exciting movie. It might not be the bestBournemovie, butThe Bourne Legacyhad more than enough going for it to merit a sequel.
