Jeremy Renner To Star In 'The Bourne Legacy': Report

Jason Bourne tried to remember his identity. Now, the films that bear his name will have a whole new hero. One report indicates that it will be an already well established action star.

Matt Damon's time as the star of the "Bourne Identity" series is over, and the search for his successor is over, the Latino Review reports. The site reports that a source indicated that "The Town" and "The Hurt Locker" star Jeremy Renner has been offered the lead role in the next generation of Bourne movies, starting with "The Bourne Legacy."

If true, Renner is a strong, experienced choice, but not one that had been rumored to be on director Tony Gilroy's shortlist in February. Then, potential Bourne 2.0 stars included Jake Gyllenhaal, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Kellen Lutz and Tobey Maguire.

Whether it's Renner or someone else, they'll have a character of their own to inhabit.

"This is not a reboot or a recast or a prequel," Gilroy explained in October. "No one's replacing Matt Damon. There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter...this is a stand-alone project... The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal. Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive."

Renner will be seen this summer in another action film, "Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol." In fact, he will be taking over the franchise from original star Tom Cruise, with whom he co-stars in the fourth film. He'll also play the hero Hawkeye in the upcoming Avengers film, as well as in a cameo in this summer's "Thor" big screen adaptation.

For more, click over to Latino Review.

Comments

[Julie Chou]

05:43 PM on 04/19/2011

Most def! I cannot stand Matt Damon in Bourne movies. I thought the plot in them were great but I'm def not a Matt Damon fan. Go Renner, he's also in Mission Impossible 4 with Tom Cruise. I love that he's moving up in the movie business and full force too! :-D

[kevinw]

12:15 PM on 04/05/2011

Hope he does a good job with the role, he is a wonderful actor. The Bourne in the title is fairly stupid. It would be like having the next James Bond movie be about 008 (006 was a villain in a previous movie). We called it a Bond movie so people who liked the original would shop up and give this one a chance. The end of the Bourne Ultimatum they took down Treadstone and Blackbriar. They were shutdown due to a criminal investigation. So unless this is a prequel it will have nothing but trivial connections to the Bourne story. It is a new enterprise keeping the outer shell of the Bourne trilogy because that was a moneymaker exercise. This is a spy thriller using familiar sounding names for audience buy in. Lets hope they are not fighting SPECTRE.

[wk2hrd]

11:07 AM on 04/05/2011

Good looking!

[bridgeman]

09:39 AM on 04/05/2011

Replacing Matt Damon?

Jeremy is one of the most talented actors that have come around in decades.

As hard as it is to believe...damon will become a distant memory.

Watch and see.

[LeftLeanWing]

08:29 AM on 04/05/2011

There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter...this is a stand-alone project... The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal. Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive."

[hackerblaster]

05:45 AM on 04/05/2011

You can't "replace" Matt Damon.

[SammiDe]

04:51 AM on 04/05/2011

This is just so stupid. They didn't even tell Matt Damon they were replacing him w/this stupid drawn out series now! HE READ about it at a NEWS STAND, How terrible, AND ITS SAD when you change the MAIN CHARACTER when he doesn't even DIE! It's all Just odd, something else HAD TO HAPPEN!!

[Jokergirl]

04:32 AM on 04/05/2011

Matt Damon IS Bourne, he did great from the start, why do they want someone else to play Bourne? Damon is not that old either, he's lost the weight he gained for The Informant a while back. I like Jeremy Renner, he was cool in The Town and great in The Hurt Locker, but without Damon Jason Bourne is Jerry Bourne, or Jared Bourne, or Josh Bourne, Jeff Bourne, Jack Bourne, or Jim Bourne, Jacques Bourne, Jonas Bourne, or Jesse Bourne or even
JEB BOURNE.... AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
"Hey y'all are Russian spies, yeah? Ya'll like my hat? Would ya like a beer? I can't remember who I am but I I have this Southern know how to ass sassasfrass as sas asss.ii..damn can't spell it, oh yeah I kill folks."

[SammiDe]

04:53 AM on 04/05/2011

I agree - I think they KILL sequels when they do stuff like this. At least KILL him off and THEN have another brought in not completely change the man himself! That is just stupid. Really.

[LeftLeanWing]

08:27 AM on 04/05/2011

Ruffalo will not be Playing BOURNE.. but a new character that was in the same Program....as Jason Bourne....
It was well established in the Trilogy that Jason Bourne was the First...  not the Only...

[NeoConsAreFinished]

12:04 AM on 04/05/2011

If this is true it is a weak choice. I thought hurt locker was over rated.

[Vatican Assassin Warlock]

11:52 PM on 04/04/2011

Why not get Matt Damon again? Fail. Also, having Jeremy Renner play not one but two American James Bond characters = fail city.

[simonbugatti]

11:30 PM on 04/04/2011

If he will take over from Cruise as the star of Mission: Impossible, he cannot be the new Jason Bourne. The two parts will overlap and confuse fans.
BTW, the Bourne movies are my favorite action movies, but the key element was Bourne's problematic memory. This device cannot be maintained for more movies, so its uniqueness will be lost and Bourne will turn into just another action series.

[littlebrowngirl]

10:47 PM on 04/04/2011

Love it.

[Dinkus850]

09:57 PM on 04/04/2011

I think it's really interesting how big his career is getting given the rumors that he's gay.

[quixoto]

11:23 PM on 04/04/2011

Not surprising to me at all. Look at Tom Cruise.

Wait, on second thought...

[Doc Wattson]

11:57 PM on 04/04/2011

He isn't gay, and if he was why would that matter at all?

[Dinkus850]

09:05 AM on 04/05/2011

I'm not saying it should matter but let's be honest, Hollywood doesn't have the best track record with this kinda thing.

I don't know if he is gay but the rumors have been around for years and they started when his former acting coach called him out saying his being gay was never a secret before he became famous. The fact that he takes his mom as his date damn near everywhere ain't helping.

[Lynnybb]

09:42 PM on 04/04/2011

NO. Renner is a fine actor but Damon is Bourne. This will not work.

[ajlamb]

09:25 PM on 04/04/2011

Jeremy is a great choice. He was awesome in The Town and Hurt Locker.