Well who saw that coming? Not me that’s for sure, after years of trying to coax star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass back it appears that Universal’s persistence has finally paid off with both men in advanced talks for another Bourne sequel.

Deadline broke the news and predictably there’s been no official comment from Universal at the time of writing, as both Damon and Greengrass have been adamant that a fourth Bourne was off the cards clearly something has sparked their interest to get them to the table. According to Deadline, Universal are planning to get Bourne 4 into cinemas before the Jeremy Renner lead sequel to The Bourne Legacy. Back in 2012, producer Frank Marshall had expressed interest in a Bourne movie that starred both Damon and Renner but those tentative plans are no longer being pursued, for now. 

Justin Lin (Fast and Furious) is directing The Bourne Legacy follow-up that was scheduled for a summer 2016 release, if Deadline’s source is correct then this is no longer the case but a 2017 launch is a safe bet. This makes good business sense for Universal as Bourne is a valuable franchise, the Damon-less Legacy grossed just over $276 million worldwide, not bad at all but a far cry from the highs of The Bourne Ultimatum that took home $442 million and effectively brought the trilogy to a close. Paul Greengrass directing and Matt Damon back in his signature role is money in the bank for Universal, this gives Legacy’s sequel a better chance at sustaining the franchise should Damon/Greengrass only be back for one more movie. More on this as soon as we hear something.