Edward Norton may play the villain in The Bourne Legacy

It's been a long time since I've blogged about the next 'Bourne' film, titled The Bourne Legacy.  Maybe because it doesn't feel right without Matt Damon?  But, Hollywood doesn't care what I think.  A fourth Bourne film will be made and it will star Jeremy Renner in the part made famous by Damon.  I'm ok with the casting of Renner, he will do great, no doubt.  That's three viable franchises at once folks.  The Bourne films, The Avengers (where he'll play Hawkeye), and the Mission: Impossible films he's taking over from Tom Cruise. 

Today comes rumors that Edward Norton could play the villain.  This is spectacular because you all should know I think Norton is a great actor.  Yes, I also think he's a jerk and that's why directors can't work with him.  But he knows how to play a villain.  I doubt this movie will have a goofy tone the way his character was portrayed in The Italian Job; I think it will be darker like the world Matt Damon inhabited.  Either way, I'm psyched about the casting rumor and hope it's true.  Anyone else think Norton is worth the trouble?

Casting rumors for the fourth 'Bourne' film

I know I have already talked about this before, but a fourth 'Bourne' movie without Matt Damon is very real.  There's a long list of rumored actors (about 8-10).  But three names keep coming up across the internet-sphere.  /slashfilm mentions three big names in the running.  Let's look at them now:

Jake Gyllenhaal:

Hmm, I'm conflicted.  I don't like his acting whatsoever, I've pretty much hated him in everything I've seen, except Prince of Persia.  That's why I'm conflicted.  The 'Bourne' films need a good dramatic actor ala Matt Damon.  We need to see his confusion, his desperation.  BUT, Bourne may not even be the main character.  The sequel has only promised to be in the same world as Jason Bourne.  So maybe Gyllenhaal could pull it off?

Tobey Maguire:

He could totally be Gyllenhaal's twin

My absolute favorite of the trio here.  I feel like he needs to do something to shed that goody goody Peter Parker persona.  This film/franchise could do just the trick!  He has the dramatic chops, we've seen it.  He has the action background of the Spider-Man franchise, he is a real talent.  His body may not fit the world the way Damon's did, but he could make it work.





Garrett Hedlund:

Why?  Why am I even writing about this guy?  He totally stunk up the screen in Tron: Legacy and I hated every aspect of his acting in that film.  Why would I want to see him replace one of the greatest actors of my generation (Damon) in one of the most critically acclaimed action trilogies in history?  The answer is I don't want to see him get the role, period.

It's my opinion, you're on my blog so you obviously care, or you're just curious.  Feel free to drink some Haterade in the comments.  Who of these three should get the role?  Or maybe it's not any of these three, what do you think?

Click the jump for a little extra. (SOILER ALERT TO BOURNE ULTIMATUM)

You know who they should bring back, Édgar Ramírez!  His character of Paz in The Bourne Ultimatum was incredible!  He demanded our attention on the screen and held is own against Damon.  SPOILER ALERT:  Jason Bourne doesn't kill Paz in the film, he spares his life.  So why not continue the franchise with a revenge-filled Paz seeking to clear his name and start a new life?  The producers can leave the door open for Damon to return to the franchise, and fulfill their wish of staying within the confines of the 'Bourne' world.  What do you think?

"Mission: Impossible" without Tom Cruise and a "Bourne" Film without Matt Damon?

Ok so we know Mission: Impossible 4 is filming right now. We also know it co-stars Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner. But what we didn't know was that the studio wants to continue the franchise without Cruise. Crazy thought considering Cruise has been the face of the franchise for the better part of 15 years. So Jeremy Renner is going to carry the franchise?

I don't know. I'm scared to say "he can't do it", then he turns out to be the next Matt Damon/bad ass (more on him later). I also don't want to say "that's a great idea" because Renner is yet to carry a film on his own. His biggest part obviously came in The Hurt Locker, but he wasn't the main attraction there. Here's what Renner had to say about the rumor that he's taking over the franchise:

It’s a franchise to potentially take over… I can’t predict the future and what they want, but that’s certainly the idea.

Sounds like he's pretty confident what's set to occur. I'll hold judgment until after I see Renner in M:I 4. Now, the other franchise losing it's main actor... 'The Bourne' franchise. I hate to admit it, but I just wrapped up the trilogy the other day after watching The Bourne Ultimatum. Wow, it's freakin' awesome. It is so good, so well directed, so well acted, I was blown away. It was a fitting end to Damon's take on the man rediscovering his past. But the film makers kept it open fore more chapters in the saga.

Now it's been confirmed that not only is director of parts 2 and 3, Paul Greengrass, leaving the franchise, so too is Matt Damon. And we also know that the studio has started pre-production on a fourth film. It's not a re-boot per say because the are not recasting the Jason Bourne character. They're launching a new franchise with a new lead actor. Why? The hell for?

I mean the studios are so greedy it has come to this? The director and actor don't want to continue so we'll just swap them out for someone else. I understand the studios want to profit off of a hot property, but come-on! At least go a few more years before starting another franchise and let people forget the past incarnation. I hate that both franchises are losing their stars, how about you?

Fourth Bourne may shoot early next year

Matt Damon as a spy hero? If you would have asked me that a few years ago, I would have say, yeah f'ing right! As the men of 40 Year Old Virgin put it: "Y'know, I always thought that Matt Damon was like a Streisand, but he's rocking the shit in this one"! I believe The Bourne movies have re-invented the spy genre so much that it has raised the bar on such movies. If you want to make a spy movie, it better live up to this franchise. I also believe the success of the Bond movies, especially Casino Royale is due to the Bourne franchise pushing the envelope. Dark Horizon interviewed producer Frank Marshall and here's what he had to say:

We’d like to shoot next year. It’s trying to get everybody’s schedules in the right place and getting the script right. We’ve done pretty well with these scripts that are pretty loosely put together, but I’d like the script to be really solid this time before we go forward. We’re spending a lot of time on this story.

If this is true, we could see a fourth Bourne movie by summer, or late 2011. Keep it here for more Bourne news.