Matt Damon on Bourne's future: "Maybe people are done with the character"

Matt Damon on Bourne’s future: “Maybe people are done with the character”

March 9th 2017, 7:54am

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Last year saw the return of Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne in the aptly titled JASON BOURNE. Fans were eager to see the actor return to the role, especially after that first footage of the pepper-haired spy knocking some chap’s lights out with a swift elbow to the face. But that moment was a lone bright spot in a film that was otherwise met with a collective, “…meh,” and now with questions around more movies looming even the star doesn’t sound too sure if there will be more elbow knockouts.

While speaking with the Toronto Sun Damon was asked about his future with the character, considering Hugh Jackman’s final outing of Wolverine in LOGAN coming out, and Damon sounded uncertain as to whether he would put on another dirty jacket and ride a motor bike through crowded streets:

It would have to be a pretty incredible story to get us all back on the horse.

Though the movie wasn’t a slouch at the box office with $162 million domestic run ($412 million global), the film received mediocre reviews from both audiences and critics (57% and 56% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes), and that could be a reason for why getting back to business isn’t a sure thing:

This last one didn’t do as well as the one we did 10 years ago, so maybe people are done with the character.

But Damon seems like a positive fellow, and there’s always a silver lining in the clouds. I mean, this is the man who survived alone on Mars.

I think everybody is leaving the door open, as we did at the end of this movie, in hopes that we can come up with an intriguing story for the next one.

JASON BOURNE was, ultimately, a big bowl of forgettable. Like Lucky Charms if a trickster god plucked out all the marshmallows. There just wasn’t anything special about it (sans Damon), and it couldn’t justify bringing back the character after a 10-year absence. Even the Jeremy Renner-led THE BOURNE LEGACY failed to register, and with the middling response to JASON maybe we can take this as a sign the traditional spy action movie is fading away. Hell, Tom Cruise is having to hang on the side of soaring airplanes to put butts in seats. Just do that, Damon.

Matt Damon's THE GREAT WALL is in theaters now.