Summary

• Matt Damon felt the Bourne franchise had run its course, leading to his departure after The Bourne Ultimatum.
• Damon returned to the Bourne series nearly a decade later for Jason Bourne, as he realized he wasn't done with the character.
• Jeremy Renner's The Bourne Legacy, without Matt Damon, struggled to engage fans and failed to reach the same critical success.

Matt Damon is the face of the Jason Bourne franchise, but he was replaced for the fourth movie The Bourne Legacy, and there were good reasons for both why he left the cast, and why he returned. Based on the Jason Bourne novels by Robert Ludlum, Matt Damon first played Jason Bourne in the 2002 movie The Bourne Identity, and reprised this role in the following two movies, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. The Bourne Identity was a huge success, and the gritty style of realistic action influenced other franchises, such as the James Bond movies.

The Jason Bourne movie series' success saw the franchise produce five films overall, as well as a TV spinoff called Treadstone, which was canceled after one season. The premise was that Matt Damon's Jason Bourne was an assassin who had lost his memory, and the CIA wanted to get rid of him in an effort to tie up loose ends. However, this changed in The Bourne Legacy, as Matt Damon was replaced by Jeremy Renner, who played a new character named Aaron Cross. Damon's protagonist was shown through pictures and mentioned in conversation, but Cross served as his direct replacement.

Matt Damon Felt Bourne Had Run Its Course

Director Paul Greengrass Was Also Ready To Move On

It was certainly surprising that Matt Damon was replaced by Jeremy Renner for The Bourne Legacy, especially as it strayed from Ludlum’s novels. Damon was the one who decided to leave the franchise, and he had a number of reasons for doing so. Mainly, the actor felt the Bourne franchise had run out of road for his character.

By the end of The Bourne Ultimatum, Jason Bourne had fully recovered his memory and dealt with the corrupt CIA officials trying to get rid of him. Bourne would have needed a whole new motivation or enemy, and Damon could not figure out how to make a fourth movie work (via IndieWire). Additionally, the filming of the first three Bourne movies was intense and grueling.

This, alongside a lack of new ideas for the fourth Bourne movie, made director Paul Greengrass decide he was completely done with the Bourne movies, as explained in an interview with Deadline. Damon was very loyal to Greengrass, so the lack of character development mixed with the Bourne director's departure meant that Damon had no intention of staying (via EW). The production was keen to keep Greengrass and Damon, but the pair had given all they could after The Bourne Ultimatum, and the Bourne universe had to take a different direction.

Why Matt Damon Came Back For Bourne 5

Damon Reprised His Role Nearly A Decade Later

In 2016, nine years after Damon’s last appearance as Jason Bourne, both Greengrass and Matt Damon returned for the fifth, and potentially final, Bourne movie, Jason Bourne. Universal Pictures was keen to get Damon and Greengrass back and felt there was more to Jason Bourne’s story. Damon was in conversation the studio and had realized he was not as done with Bourne as he thought he was. The actor also spoke to Greengrass who, fortunately, decided to come up with ideas for another film, and the two returned (via The New York Times).

Damon’s return to the Bourne franchise relied heavily on Greengrass. Although it was Damon who was ed first and had the desire to return, without Greengrass it is doubtful that Damon would have starred in Jason Bourne. Greengrass was able to use the new era of social media and the problems of privacy to create a fresh, new story, and it meant Damon was able to return to Jason Bourne as audiences had so badly wanted him to. Interestingly, there have been recent talks of Damon once again reprising his role for a new Bourne movie from director Edward Berger.

How The Bourne Legacy Was Received Without Matt Damon

Jason Bourne's Absence Was Felt

Despite Jeremy Renner being an Oscar-nominated actor who was proving himself a franchise star as well with the Mission: Impossible movies and his time as Hawkeye in the MCU, fans did not seem overly interested in a Bourne movie that did not have Jason Bourne in it. Matt Damon's Bourne movies exposed a wider universe that explored some intriguing ideas about surveillance, but in the end, the character of Jason Bourne was really the best part of these movies.

Renner's The Bourne Legacy was a solid hit with a $276 million worldwide gross (via Box Office Mojo) while its $113 million domestic gross was the lowest of the franchise. The critical reception was also not as strong as the previous three Matt Damon-led movies with The Bourne Legacy being the first in the franchise to earn a "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While Renner was deemed a compelling lead, the overall story was criticized for being underwhelming.

Interestingly, Damon's return in Jason Bourne earned a lower Rotten Tomatoes ranking. But that doesn't mean the original Bourne actor has to be done for good.

Sources: IndieWire, EW, Deadline, The New York Times