The rumors are true, action movie fans! Justin Lin has signed on to direct the next installment of the Bourne series: 'Fast & Furious' Helmer Justin Lin To Direct Next 'Bourne' Installment.
Having spent that last several years successfully resurrecting Fast & Furious and turning it into a global blockbuster phenomenon, Justin now turns his attention to Universal's other big action franchise. He'll direct the fifth movie in the series, the sequel to The Bourne Legacy, which kicked off the parallel storyline of Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner. Rumor has it, they're aiming for a summer 2015 release:
Universal Pictures has tapped the director of one of the studio's most lucrative and successful franchises to take on the fifth installment of The Bourne Identity franchise. Justin Lin will direct the sequel to the Tony Gilroy-directed The Bourne Legacy, the pic that kicked off storyline of Aaron Cross, the character played by Jeremy Renner. Renner is set to return as Cross in a story hatched by 'Invictus' and 'Sherlock Holmes' scribe Anthony Peckham. Frank Marshall and Captivate Entertainment’s Ben Smith and Jeffrey Weiner are also back as producers, and Lin also will produce through his Perfect Storm banner. I'm hearing a summer 2015 release is being eyed for this one, though the studio is saying it doesn’t know when it will open. Universal chairman Donna Langley, co-president of production Peter Cramer, and VP Production Anikah McLaren will oversee the project for the studio. Bourne Legacy, released in 2012, grossed $276 million worldwide.I wasn't even a huge fan of The Bourne Legacy -- through most of the movie I was asking, what's the point? But this news gets me excited, mainly because Justin is a friend, and I can't wait to see him do his thing.
Justin knows a thing or two about action flicks, and hell of a lot about car chases, so this is a good fit. And heck, he also knows something about jumping into the middle of a movie franchise and weaving together its disparate parts, so this is actually a great fit.
Think we'll eventually get to see Matt Damon reprise his role as the titular Jason Bourne? Damon has expressly said that he'll only return with director Paul Greengrass at the helm, so it's a long shot. But hey, it's the movies. Anything is possible. (But if The Rock suddenly shows up in Bourne 6, I don't know what to tell you.)