Fri Oct 17, 2008 — by Josh Wigler

A Third Sequel is 'Bourne'

Matt Damon Returns to Franchise

Jason Bourne may have trouble recalling his past, but Universal remembers it fondly as an incredible cash cow. Unsurprisingly, the studio is returning to the bovine in question for more milk.

An untitled fourth installment in the Bourne franchise is officially headed for the scripting phase, reports Variety. George Nolfi, who co-wrote The Bourne Ultimatum with Tony Gilroy, will script the latest round for the amnesiac assassin. Matt Damon is attached to the project, as is Paul Greengrass, who directed The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. Frank Marshall produces, with Jeffrey Weiner and Henry Morrison as executive producers. The untitled Bourne film is said to be a top priority for Universal as they continue to mount tentpole properties.

Although Matt Damon is attached to star, it's likely that a fourth film would feature several brand new faces. The franchise has a history of killing off its leading characters, including (spoiler alert) those played by Chris Cooper, Brian Cox and Franka Potente. Julia Stiles and Joan Allen's characters remain at large. With Stiles' Nicky set up as a potential love interest in Ultimatum, odds are good that the character could resurface. Unless she's already committed to Save the Last Dance 3.

Unlike the previous three installments, Variety states that the latest Bourne adventure will not be based on the original novels from Robert Ludlum. In actuality, though the first three films share the titles of Ludlum's original three novels, the movies are dramatic departures from the books in terms of plot, content and characters. In fact, Ludlum only wrote three Bourne novels, all of which have already been "adapted" to the big screen.

If the film franchise continues to borrow names from the novels, the fourth film may be called The Bourne Legacy based on Eric Van Lustbader's 2004 novel. The author, who continued Ludlum's franchise after his death in 2001, also wrote The Bourne Betrayal and The Bourne Sanction. It's unlikely that the films will follow Legacy's plot, seeing as Bourne is approximately 60 years old in Lustbader's series and Damon is still a few years shy of senior citizen status.

What would you like to see in a fourth Bourne? What would you want the title to be? ReBourne? Still Bourne? Bourne in the USA? Weekend at Bourney's? As always, sound off below!

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