It’s not surprising that Universal are doing everything they can to continue the Bourne franchise, considering how financially successful it has been. And even though events in The Bourne Ultimatum were nicely wrapped up, there’s always room for unnecessary sequels in Hollywood. So a fourth Bourne film is going ahead. This is certainly not new news, as the film has been in development for months. However, production stalled when director Paul Greengrass (who helmed Supremacy and Ultimatum) pulled out to focus on other projects. But this week Deadline reported that Tony Gilroy will take the reins.

Gilroy is not only director of Michael Clayton and Duplicity, but he has been involved in the writing of the three Bourne films. So he is certainly close to the franchise, and more than a hack-for-hire. Gilroy has also stated that he wasn’t happy with Greengrass’s handling of the script (“less words, more shakey cam”!) so it will be interesting to see how his visual style can handle the action sequences that fans of the films have come to love. But what’s more interesting is the uncertainty of lead Matt Damon as Bourne. He is already lined up to appear in a Liberace biopic and drama Margaret, and his allegiances with Greengrass are obvious (Green Zone), so we may see a reboot as opposed to an outright sequel.

The new Bourne film is tentatively titled The Bourne Legacy, after the fourth novel in the series (and the first not written by original author Robert Ludlum).