I’m a bit late on this one, but I think it merits a discussion even a day and a half after the fact. Other than a little Twitter flare up, it didn’t seem to earn a lot of rants.
According to Latino Review, Universal has picked the man they want to be the new Jason Bourne-but-not-Bourne. They’ve offered it to Jeremy Renner, though he hasn’t yet accepted.
The kind of kicker about the news is that Tony Gilroy’s top pick was Oscar Isaac, but the studio nixed the idea.
It’s a shame. Isaac is one of those guys who deserves a badass franchise film, and if you’re going to do this Bourne-but-not-Bourne film, why not use its buzzword concept to create a new star? This is an actor who has been the standout of two big budget films in the last year — Robin Hood and Sucker Punch — and if he remains a secondary player, he will regularly outstrip many of the names he’s up against.
Until someone — anyone — takes a chance and hands him his own damn film. And the studio that does that will be a smart and lucky one indeed.
If Renner doesn’t sign for The Bourne Legacy (and with his schedule, he might not) then I hope someone at Universal watches their copy of Robin Hood again and offers it to Isaac after all. It might not be too late.