The Bourne Legacy Leading Man Search

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Universal has its eye on an August 2012 release for Bourne Legacy, a spin-off from the action-packed Bourne film Trilogy so many loved, which starred Matt Damon. We got the news from Variety that “the hunt for the new face of Universal’s Bourne franchise is heating up.”

Writer-director Tony Gilroy says the star of the new film or films won’t be Jason Bourne, but rather “a new assassin with a similar background.” That would certainly open the window for lot’s of cinematic possibilities. It also gives one lucky male actor a chance to reinvent the franchise and re-establish himself as a household name, if he doesn’t already have one. Deadline confirmed the list of potentials, naming Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch and Kellan Lutz, as possibilities. They also added these names: Paul Dano, Michael Pitt, Oscar Isaac, Michael Fassbender, Luke Evans, Alex Pettyfer, and Benjamin Walker.

There are some yummy candidates there, varying in ages, but I’m surprised Taylor Lautner has been left off! He’s expressed wanting a career much like Matt Damon’s.

According to Variety, “insiders stress that no front-runner has emerged. Lesser-known actors could become a factor because Gilroy wants to screen-test all candidates — which may be a stumbling block for some established thesps.” Yes, its literally a wide net they are casting. In the end it could be anyone, but the thespian would have to be up for a physically challenging role, as Damon was.

Variety also stated, “the focus on a new character will allow for the possibility that Matt Damon could return to the franchise in some fashion.” This reminds me of the scenario with Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner for the pending Mission Impossible sequel.