A Bourne Film Without Bourne in It

Just a week earlier, Universal Pictures have announced Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, Duplicity) as the contracted director for the studio's desperately needs fourth installment in the Jason Bourne franchise. The next installment will be called "Bourne Legacy" and at the time it was unclear whether Matt Damon would return to his amnesiac super spy form, however Gilroy has come out and clearing several details that he didn’t think were properly reported in the first place via Hollywood-Elsewhere.

First up, while "The Bourne Legacy" is the title of one of the Bourne novels (though not an original Robert Ludlum one), the film will not follow that book’s story. And this is not a reboot, nor does it invalidate or contradict the story presented in the three existing films. "It's a completely original screenplay," Gilroy explained. "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."

Furthermore, the promise of this film, Gilroy says, is showing “the bigger canvas” of the world in which Jason Bourne exists, and that those who paid attention to small details in the other three films will be rewarded for doing so. "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. What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I'm building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy. The world we're making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down the road]."
He continued: "Everything you saw in the first three films actually happened, and everyone who got into will be rewarded for paying attention. We're going to show you the bigger picture, the bigger canvas. When you see what we're going and see what we're doing it'll be pretty obvious, but Jason Bourne's activities in the first three films is the immediate trigger."