Jeremy Renner Looks Like Himself in First ‘Bourne Legacy’ Image

Devoted fans of the successful "Bourne" series are probably still a little sore that Matt Damon will not be returning as film's most popular agent since 007. The star left along with director Paul Greengrass, who decided to move on after directing The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, and Universal had no interest in driving up the budget of the next film just to keep them.

The studio's fourth film based on author Robert Ludlum's popular character is titled The Bourne Legacy and will feature Jeremy Renner as a different character with a similar story. Renner, who hit the map with his dramatic turn in The Hurt Locker, decided to use his newfound fame to make a go of an action career. He just appeared in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and has Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and The Avengers both due out before "Legacy."

US Today had the first image of the new film directed by original trilogy writer Tony Gilroy. Gilroy and younger brother Dan wrote "Legacy" and signed a heavyweight cast that features Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton. To help with continuity, Joan Allen and Albert Finney are expected to reprise their roles as Pam Landy and Dr. Albert Hirsch, two of the minds behind the Treadstone program that spawned Jason Bourne. Renner, however, will play a character named Aaron Cross.

The image gives us Renner looking ready to karate-chop some throats. It hardly gives us a sense of just how much the film will overlap with the previous films, but given some of those casting moves and that Gilroy co-wrote the others, it's time to stop being bummed and start getting pumped.

"Legacy" will make its mark on Aug. 3.