Were you upset by Matt Damon's departure from the "Bourne" franchise? You won't be for much longer. Universal Pictures has just released the teaser trailer for this summer's The Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner.
All the same players you remember from the CIA and the mysterious Treadstone program are back: Joan Allen (as Pam Landy), Albert Finney (as Dr. Albert Hirsch) and David Strathairn (as Noah Vosen). It appears that no one really misses previous director Paul Greengrass; they all jumped to return to their roles yet again for new director Tony Gilroy, a writer on the original trilogy and also of "Legacy."
In addition to scoring the newest "it" action star in Renner, GIlroy also recruited Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz—no small feat. After directing George Clooney and Tilda Swinton to an Oscar nomination and win, respectively, for his film Michael Clayton, you should see by now that he's not your average studio replacement.
The most impressive thing about this first look is how Gilroy and crew have kept the look and feel of the "Bourne" universe while sliding Jeremy Renner perfectly in place. In an age of reboots and mega-franchises, marketing can make all the difference. I suspect audiences will respond well to the "There Was Never Just One" tagline, especially packaged with this teaser. It feels very familiar, but informs fans in intriguing fashion that Damon is not being replaced; this is a new mystery that awaits those who loved the original trilogy. I suspect that box-office wise, "Legacy" will not skip a beat.
