These are photos of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck at an event celebrating season four of their Project Greenlight HBO series for new directors. I love seeing them together so much. These two haven’t collaborated on Project Greenlight in 13 years. The series will air on HBO and you can see a video announcement here. (I haven’t been able to find the premiere date.)
Other than Project Greenlight, the big news is of course that Matt Damon will reprise his role as Jason Bourne. (We’ve heard this before, but now Damon is confirming in person.) Damon has said for years that he won’t do another Bourne movie unless he’s able to work with director Paul Greengrass again, who directed him in his last two Bourne films. The Bourne series is so successful that the studio put out a fourth one in 2012 with Jeremy Renner in the lead as another human weapon from the same shadowy government program. It’s unclear if Renner will ever be back because Greengrass and Universal Pictures have reached an agreement for a another Bourne film and Damon has signed on. In an joint interview with E!, Affleck brought up Damon returning as Bourne, and Damon confirmed that he’s set to play the iconic role again. He said that filming will begin next year.
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.
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.”
Why is beefy Ben Affleck complaining about losing his physical fitness when he just got buff for Batman? Is he mad that he’s not at the helm of a billion dollar franchise like Damon or was he just joking around? I have to say that Damon does look better than Affleck, but I’ve always found him more attractive anyway. Plus he had the sense to play his personal life expertly and not get sucked into the tabloid drama.
I know it’s a while off but I’m so excited for another Bourne movie. Damon will be filming Ridley Scott’s The Martian in Budapest next month and I think his schedule is free for Bourne after that. Also, I just found out from his IMDB that he’s in Interstellar! I’m sure it’s just a brief cameo or they would have promoted it more, but it still makes me want to see it.
I’m not sure how i feel about it. Damon looks like a middle-aged dad to me nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, I mean it in a very positive way. But Bourne? I’m having a really hard time buying whatever Tom Cruise is selling and am not sure it’s going to be any better with Damon.
i think this is how he looks when he’s not promoting anything/laying low. I think when he comes back as Bourne/Webb, they’ll whip him aesthetically and physically back into shape. CAN’T WAIT.
I hope so. I think he looks great in the “Bourne” series. It’s part of their appeal.
@Tanguerita …
Did you ever read the Robert Ludlum “Jason Bourne” novels? In the first one, “The Bourne Identity,” David Webb/Jason Bourne was older in the books than Matt Damon is now (he just turned 45 on October 8th) and he was ‘still’ a highly trained, world class assassin able to kick some serious a$$ and kill people with any object near at hand, even with amnesia. The mini-series made in 1988 with Richard Chamberlain (who was 54-years old) as Jason Bourne was a close fit age-wise.
That’s awesome! I’m such a huge fan of the Bourne films (including the one with Jeremy Renner). I remember how skeptical some people were at the thought of Matt Damon as an “action hero”, but he was perfect in the role. Can’t wait for the new one!
I wonder if they’re just throwing Renner to the curb. Which is sad, because he wasn’t bad, but the script and the direction on that were sub-par to the previous installments. Glad Damon’s back. Love the Bourne series.
Didn’t Renner kind of get the shaft with the Mission Impossible films too? He was going to take over from Tom and Tom decided to do another film? Maybe I’m remembering that wrong.
Per Variety, Universal is still developing another Renner/Bourne movie, due for release summer of 2016. But who knows?
I’d be surprised – Renner’s was the most expensive and made a lot less money than the Damon films. If they’ve got Matt back, that’s a big story for promotion and it will probably do very well. They probably have no need for Renner at the point, in that particular franchise.
Renner does seem to get the short end of the stick a lot. He’ll probably lose Bourne, the MI stuff never happened, and he was the only main cast not nominated for American Hustle (which he was great in).
@CR et al,
How in the world could Jeremy Renner be in another ‘Bourne’ film when his character–Aaron Cross–has absolutely nothing to do with Jason Bourne??
Yes, he is in Interstellar. Not just a cameo. Can’t say more.
Excellent! Can’t wait now. I am seeing it next weekend
Yes! I was pleasantly surprised that he was in there. I thought it was a brief cameo too but he got quite a bit of screentime. It made Interstellar more tolerable, seeing Matty in it.
And I agree with Lilac. Can’t give anymore details or we’d give away the plot twist.
Damon in Interstellar is the most interesting character in my opinion
I was so happily suprised to see Matt in Interstellar. He was great as always.
Matt Damon played his personal life expertly? Was this before or after he broke up with Minnie Driver on the Oprah Winfrey show?
Before and After
How many times has Matt been in the tabloids?
It wasn’t really true anyway, was it? http://community.fortunecity.ws/lavendar/fullmonty/282/faq.html The only quote I can find is her saying, “It’s unfortunate that Matt went on ‘Oprah’; it seemed like a good forum for him to announce to the world that we were no longer together, which I found fantastically inappropriate. Of course, he was busy declaring his love for me on David Letterman a month previously.” http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jul/26/entertainment/ca-7110 Sounds like she was just mad that he announced it. (Which is her right. But it’s his right to say the relationship is over. Especially if he was about to be in a new one.) How does announcing the break up equal him dumping her live on tv before doing so in person? Where did the tabs get that from? I don’t think Minnie ever actually said that. Don’t get me wrong though. Read the first page of that LA Times piece. Jennifer Aniston must have taken notes from Driver on how to play the victim in the press (and get lots of it) and then complaining about being portrayed as one. I love Driver, but she’s kinda’ “dramatic” http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/feb/19/minnie-driver-actor-hollywood-life and in an interview a few years ago she talked about how rough that break up was. http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/70797/Minnie-Driver-Admits-She-Regrets-Not-Staying-Friends-With-Matt-Damon It seems like there was a lot of animosity between them, so she did nothing for years to clear this up, out of spite (over the split or Winona Ryder or whatever) or for want of PR. But none of it was Damon’s fault really.
When your only example of him putting a footwrong was way back in 1998… doesn’t that actually help prove the point that he’s pretty savvy about his personal life and the press?
Why are you guys always so negative about Affleck? It seems like in every post where he’s mentioned you just have to say something bad. Just like the post where u called him an emotional abuser the other day.. :/
I agree.
I like Matt and LOVE his Bourne , so cant wait for the new film.
But of the two Ben is my guy. There was a time I used to dislike Ben and I agree I had a lot of per-conceived notions about him. But now I have taken 180 degree turn…. Since seeing his movies like Argo, Gone Baby Gone I have come to love him. I think he makes a great director. He comes across as a very smart , articulate guy. Happy for his success with Gone Girl!
Love his family and the way he casually goes about his day in LA without creating a fuss about papz etc…
Who called him an emotional abuser? Ridiculously over the top. Leave him alone – he’s a good guy. Like it was OBVIOUS he was kidding about being in shape – what’s all this “is he jealous?” Give me a break!
Can’t Wait. I love Matt Damon.
I read that as Ben just messing around with his friend. No need to get offended by everything, you know?
Just wait till you see him in Interstellar 😉 I’m glad he’ll be back as Bourne but I feel sorry for Renner – he did a good job too. I wish he’d be in it too along with Julia Stiles.
I think Ben was joking.
I hope Jeremy Renner is in it too. Tag team Bourne Vs the CIA. I’m in
Yas my boo in his iconique role again! Affleck could never.
What CB didn’t cover was Matt Damon’s response to a tmz guy when he asked: ” Have you seen Ben Affleck’s p*nis in Gone Girl? Damon answered: “I saw many times before that.” 🙂
For what we see in Gone Girl!
Matt Damon is Affleck’s only redeeming quality.
I take it you don’t care for the butt chin? I always watch the butt chin. It’s soothing in a way. I’ve survived many a tragedy by using the butt chin as my happy thought.
Yay! I guess they came up with an actual script before trying to get Matt to sign on and greenlight the film this time. (I do feel sorry for Renner though. This is now the third franchise that he’s going to be sidelined and/or second banana’ed.)
Btw, if there was any sort of jealousy or competitiveness of that kind between Ben and Matt, I can’t imagine their friendship lasting THIS long and being so strong. They’ve both had ups and downs and Good Will Hunting was one of the few times that their careers peaked at the same time. Matt was going through a rough patch up until the Bourne movies. And when Matt was riding high, Ben’s career was in the toilet. And on and on… Ben’s joking.
Exactly! I admire how they have stuck together for so long despite their successes coming at different times…
Or was he just joking around? You have to ask? Of course, he was joking around. That’s what these guys do with each other.
Yeah I thought it was pretty clear that he was joking around. He’ll be done Batman by then and won’t be on the strict workout regime, just as Matt is getting into his for Bourne.
I thought it was a joke
Perhaps looks and sex appeal are the reason Renner allegedly gets sidelined??? I can’t criticize his acting but I feel like they keep trying to cram him down our throats like he’s the next Daniel Craig – not the prettiest but so hot with his sexy sexiness… Those eyes… that accent and that BODY *fans self*. Alls I gots say Gretchen is “Stop saying fetch. It ain’t a thing. Craig is the one and only.”
I liked the Bourne series immensely & I am a big fan of MD’s acting. My two faves are The Good Shepherd and The Talented Mr. Ripley. As Bourne, he was amazing physically and dramatically. I would love to see him and Renner work together.
Love these two, both seem like fine men.
Ben was smart , NOT marrying JLO , even if he basically dumped her at the alter.
Great seeing Matt and Ben together.
JLO has a tv interview coming out ,talking about how Ben broke her heart.
Loved Bourne with Damon and Renner, excited to see a new one with Damon but if they pot one out with Renner, I’ll see that too. I was one of the ones who hated Cruise for the Jack Reacher flick but had to eat my words cause he did a good job.
Yay!! The one with Renner was the worst.
Too bad Franke Potente can’t return . Poor Marie.