Matt Damon will return to the big screen as CIA assassin Jason Bourne on July 16, 2016, with Paul Greengrass returning to helm the next installment of the highly-successful "Bourne" franchise.
Damon confirmed this information to E! News, saying, "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."
Damon and Greengrass worked together in the second and third installments of the series, namely "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) and "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007).
Last May, Damon told CNBC that he's open to reprising his role if Greengrass would direct. The actor expressed his love for the character and how he wants to discover what happens to Bourne next.
He said, "It felt like such a good way to end it the last time, but having said that I love that character... and I'd love to see what happened to him. Because technically, the movie that came out in 2007 dovetailed with the one that came out in 2004, so technically the last time Jason Bourne was seen was 2004."
The first movie, "The Bourne Identity," came out in 2002. Damon reportedly said that he wasn't, at that time, expecting to be successful in the action genre or if he would enjoy it, having been known for films like "Good Will Hunting." The film, nonetheless, grossed $214 million in the worldwide box-office for its $60 million budget.
The next two films were even more successful, both critically and commercially. Having garnered numerous awards, including three Oscars, the franchise continued to receive positive reviews and wide viewership. "Supremacy" earned $288.5 million while "Ultimatum" raked in $442.8 million at the box-office.
The fourth installment, "The Bourne Legacy" (2012), didn't center on Damon's character but presented another angle in author Robert Ludlum's spy universe. It introduced field operative Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner.
According to reports, Renner's character won't be present in Damon's next Bourne film, but there will be another film to follow "Legacy" that will continue the story of Renner's Aaron Cross.
