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Matt Damon Confirms He's Reprising His Role as Jason Bourne

Fifth film in the beloved movie franchise is expected to hit theatres in 2016

By Mike Vulpo Nov 08, 2014 11:29 PMTags
Watch: Matt Damon Confirms Jason Bourne Role!

And you thought Matt Damon was done with the Bourne franchise!

After reports surfaced this summer claiming that the Hollywood star would not be reprising his role as Jason Bourne, it appears Damon has changed his mind.

E! News caught up with the actor and his close friend Ben Affleck Friday night as they celebrated season four of their resurrected passion project, Project Greenlight.

In between talking about their HBO series and their impressive muscles, Affleck (accidently?) revealed a big casting announcement.

"Well, [Damon's] going to be doing a Bourne movie next fall when I've just completely lost any semblance of physical fitness. So….," Affleck told E! News exclusively.

Angela Weiss/Getty Images

Did Affleck just say what we think he said? Oh yes, he did!

"Yes, next year," Damon responded to E! News when asked for clarification. "It'll be in 2016 when the movie will actually come out. [Director] Paul Greengrass is going to do another one and that's all I ever said. I just needed him to say yes."

There you have it, folks! Damon and Greengrass are reuniting for their third collaboration in the Bourne universe and the fifth film in the series overall. The big-screen hit, which has earned millions at the box office, was originally inspired by the novel series written by the late Robert Ludlum.

Universal Studios

Late last year, fans received some tough news from Greengrass who revealed he had no interest in directing another Bourne movie.

"In the end I felt I had given it my all in two films I'm very proud of and didn't want to make another if I didn't believe it could be as good if not better," he told Deadline. "I couldn't come up with an idea, and the business reality of franchises is that when a studio has a Bourne, they're obliged to make one every couple of years. I discovered in my heart I didn't have another one in me."

He added, "The best thing was to move on, have someone else come in and make their mark on it."

Lucky for movie fans, there's nothing wrong with having a change of heart in Hollywood. Let the Bourne series continue!

Reporting by William Marfuggi

(E! and Universal Pictures are both members of the NBCUniversal Family)