'Bourne Legacy' Jeremy Renner: 'I am not replacing Matt Damon'
Published Jul 27 2012, 15:12 BST | By Justin Harp
The Bourne Legacy star Jeremy Renner has said that he does not consider himself a replacement for Matt Damon.Renner explained that the new movie separates itself from Damon's previous Bourne films and thus establishes its own identity.
© Sarah Dunn
"There was so much developed in the three prior movies, as far as the tone and pace, the action, the authenticity… there were so many things I loved about the series," he said according to Flicks and Bits.
"Then to see what Tony Gilroy did with the new material and with this new character, it really opened up the world. For me, it was really exciting."
He continued: "At first I was hesitant, I wasn't quite sure how they would do it. But once I saw how clever it was I just jumped at the chance. It was a lot for me to play with. And what Matt Damon did, and what the previous directors have done, that was great.
"For those who love the franchise, I'm not replacing Matt, nor would I want to. It would never have been interesting if I was taking over and playing the same character. Matt is always the face of Jason Bourne and always should be."
Renner also revealed that he was impressed by the inclusion of real scientific advances in The Bourne Legacy.
"I liked this script because it was a very interesting way of continuing the story while honouring what came before. And with The Bourne Legacy, there's a science to it that is very real, and why would it not be?" he said.
"It's in this franchise where authenticity is its main foundation. There's no superhero-ness to him, to my character, it's just advanced science that is very plausible. And I think that's exciting."
Damon was recently rumoured to be returning for the latest film in the Bourne franchise, but the project's producer has confirmed that the next film will still be focused on Renner and Rachel Weisz's characters.
The Bourne Legacy is due for release on August 10 in the US and August 13 in the UK.
Watch a trailer for The Bourne Legacy below:
Bourne is Damon.. i still give a chance for Renner whether he could amaze or not
August 28th 2012 at 3:52am
was worried it would be a complete mess but i think its looks pretty good and hope it does well so they can maybe team up in a future bourne film, also think renner not a bad actor enjoyed him in both mission impossible and the avengers
July 29th 2012 at 5:11pm
Agree, looking forward to this and am willing to give it a chance.
July 30th 2012 at 11:21am
Doesn't matter what he says about the Bourne franchise, Matt Damon IS the Bourne franchise and no amount of jabbering will change that. This will be reflected at the box office.
July 28th 2012 at 11:02pm
People said that about Sean Connery and Bond...
July 29th 2012 at 5:23pm(+1 like)
I'm not interested in this one because of what Daemon666 said. It's a blatant money sequel.
July 28th 2012 at 7:08pm
How does this guy keep getting work...
July 28th 2012 at 10:09am