'Jason Bourne' News, Spoilers: Director Dishes on What Jason Bourne Was up to During 9-Year Hiatus
Director Paul Greengrass, who helmed two of the previous "Bourne" films, as well as the upcoming "Jason Bourne," has revealed where the ex-CIA operative has been hiding in the 9-year time gap between the next film and 2007's "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Thus far, it is clear that Bourne has stayed "off the grid" since the events in the third installment, in which he was last seen jumping into a river and thereafter being presumed dead. While "The Bourne Ultimatum" was released in 2007, the events in the film were actually set in 2004, the same year as the events in the second installment, "The Bourne Supremacy." Both films were directed by Greengrass.
Though a fourth "Bourne" film was released in 2012, "Jason Bourne," which reunites Greengrass with "Bourne" star Matt Damon, functions as a sequel to "Ultimatum." "The Bourne Identity," a spin-off, starred "The Hurt Locker" actor Jeremy Renner as Bourne's colleague Aaron Cross.
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While a promo for the upcoming fifth installment was aired during the 2016 Super Bowl, "Jason Bourne" has yet to release a full-length theatrical trailer. As such, "Bourne" fans will have to settle for the few hints that its cast members and filmmakers have dropped about the long-awaited film.
So where has Bourne been in the 10 or so years since he disappeared into the East River in "Ultimatum"?
"He's been in the shadows of Europe," Greengrass teased during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
"He's been active and he's been doing hard physical work," the director said. "Definitely not sunning himself on the beach."
That Bourne has been doing "hard physical work" was evident in the film's Super Bowl teaser. Greengrass also spoke about Damon's physical preparation for the film and the importance of getting Bourne's physicality right. According to the director, one of the reasons he returned to the spy franchise was the actor's dedication to getting beefed up for the role.
"You don't make a movie unless you're 1000 percent committed to make the best movie we can, and you don't make this kind of movie unless you think it can be a worthy successor to the other movies we made," Greengrass said.
The director also recounted the production crew's surprise at seeing Damon re-emerge as Bourne during the movie's first day of filming.
According to Greengrass, "It gave all of us the most immense shock, because you think 'Oh my god. This is weird. This is Jason Bourne, and he's back.'"
"Jason Bourne" hits theaters July 29.
