Jeremy Renner Talks 'The Bourne Legacy,' Reveals Character's Name

Since the announcement that Jeremy Renner would be taking up the reins of the super popular "Bourne" series, there has been some speculation as just to how we would comfortably let go of the Matt Damon-past and usher in the new.

Screenwriter, Tony Gilroy explained in October, "This is not a reboot or a recast or a prequel. 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."

With a relatively clean slate and a whole lot to live up to, "The Bourne Legacy" star has now revealed a bit about the new protagonist.

"My character is called Aaron Cross," Renner told Empire, "but he ends up having a bunch of different names. For fans of the franchise, [The Bourne Legacy] has that same ticking clock, but it's a new programme and new characters."

He goes on to ensure "Bourne" traditionalists that the recast will still offer what they know and loved about the series.

"It's just a new set of agents with a different leash. It's the same tempo and pace but more expansive and bigger. The differences are pretty vast but you'll know it's a Bourne movie."

For more, click over to Empire.

Comments

[Kelly5472]

03:52 PM on 01/06/2012

I hate when they do this crap. I mean, I know the movie won't necessarily be the same as the book, but in the book, The Bourne Legacy, Jason Bourne was very much involved in the story. And it's been a long time since I read it, but if I remember correctly, Bourne's son from his first marriage, a woman who died during the Viet Nam (?) war, is a grown up assasin coming to kill him for the wrongs he thinks he committed. They wind up coming to an understanding in the end and I think going their separate ways. So, why do this movie as a completely different story? Why not make it something else......I hate when it is totally different!

[Carnacamarna]

02:28 AM on 12/14/2011

How is it a Bourne movie without Bourne? That's like a James Bond film without James Bond. Sell it as something else.

[Michael Scarborough]

04:20 PM on 12/13/2011

Hollywood will try anything. It's how they get the financing to do it that blows my mind.

[sammyscout]

03:27 PM on 12/13/2011

Matt Damon will always be the Sean Connery of the Bourne movies.

[ricitizen]

11:06 AM on 12/13/2011

If they wanted to recast another actor to play Jason Bourne, I could live with that. After all, there have been more than one Bond. But to name a film with the Bourne name, without the Bourne character in the film seems like a rip off. It's trick to draw fans into the film. I will wait for video

[Peter Speight]

09:48 AM on 12/13/2011

So it has nothing to do with the three films... but you wanted to keep the name because sequels make more money eh.

[GuiltyOne]

08:57 AM on 12/13/2011

Please don't call him Jason Bourne ... maybe son of ....

[FormerlyTCnSRQ]

07:46 AM on 11/23/2011

love the Bourne series love Matt Damon in the films and Renner is a good choice for a new character.

[BrwnSknGurl4]

11:23 PM on 11/22/2011

Bad move...Damon should remain Bourne, like Cruise did for the M:I franchise. Renner is a terrific actor but he's butt-ugly...will skip these movies for sure...

[rowdiman]

09:51 PM on 11/22/2011

Don't fix it if it ain't broken. If I can't drool over Matt; what's the point?

[brooklyngirl8]

07:13 PM on 11/22/2011

I like Renner and they could only do a reboot because Matt Damon owns this franchise. He plays it soo wonderfully that to insert another actor as JB would be the nail in the coffin. Good luck Mr. Renner.

[Sam141979]

05:29 PM on 11/22/2011

Isn't Renner pretty much playing the same character in the new Mission Impossible movie?

[huffyISaHottie]

03:52 PM on 11/22/2011

I wonder if this will be like the bourne movies....watch the last one and you've seen them all.

[Northern Observer]

03:47 PM on 11/22/2011

I still don't see how they can have a Bourne movie without Jason Bourne being in the movie. Bourne isn't a brand that you can just pass on without him being in the movie because it's the characters name. It's like making a movie focused on M (James Bond's boss) or Q or 009 and still calling it James Bond. They should just make Renner be the new Jason Bourne character. I really hope they don't have Renner playing a Bourne alter ego where he's actually Jason Bourne but his mind is so effed up that he has a new or his old (David Webb) personality. What are two new back to back franchise takeovers gonna be like with Renner taking over Mission Impossible and the new "Bourne"? Too...much...Renner. He was great in "The Town" though.

[hypnus]

03:21 PM on 11/22/2011

Just like Coke and Coke Zero. They taste almost the same but are different. One has the traditional great taste its fans love while the other doesn’t taste as good but makes up for the substance loss with a hip black can.