“Bourne 4,” is… a bit of a mess right now.
Two sets of writers (George Nolfi on one draft, Josh Zeutemer on another)? Not a good sign. Last we heard Matt Damon said they might shoot in two years.
Now he’s being a slightly bit more optimistic. 18 months! Sheesh.
So the plan of shooting in the fall of 2010, while not scrapped yet is not looking good. It’s only a rough estimate of course, but 18 months takes you to May 2011 as a start date. With the speed that Greengrass works (not exactly fast, he took forever in the “Green Zone” post-production), that basically means a 2012 release date. And that is if they even have a script ready by then. Of course things could arrive sooner, you never know, but so far it hasn’t looked good that “Bourne 4” will arrive anytime soon.
In an interview with TotalFilm, Damon reiterates what he’s said in the last few months several times, he and director Paul Greengrass only want to shoot the film once they have a quality screenplay in front of them. “We don’t have the script yet, but hopefully we’ll be shooting in 18 months or so…,” he now says.
Greengrass is actually still tweaking “Green Zone,” which hits in March. “Paul’s finished cutting except for some effects,” Damon said. In the interview Damon also re-confirms the “Liberace” shooting date of summer 2010, and says they’re trying to get a $30 million dollar budget to make the film.
Damon’s on a crazy roll this year. The longer “Bourne” delays, the more he’s going to take other roles and the start date is going to continue to be pushed back. Would Greengrass even take on another picture in the interim? Is there a possibility “Bourne 4,” just won’t happen? Seems doubtful, too much of a cashcow for Universal.