Is it just us or is the buzz on Universal’s “Jason Bourne” kind of humming at a low frequency? No, it’s not because we don’t care — “Jason Bourne” is easily one of our most anticipated films of summer 2016 — but it’s possible the studio is letting ‘Bourne’ simmer on the burner a little while the other noisier summer blockbusters get their due.
To that end, they’ve been extremely secretive with the arc of the story for the sequel. The only real details there has been is that Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) comes looking for Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and inadvertently reveals his whereabouts to the intelligence agencies that have been searching for the rogue spy for over a decade. A post-Snowden world of cyber spying and surveillance are a central part of the story as well, but even a basic logline — other than Jason Bourne comes out of hiding — hasn’t been provided.
A new TV spot pulls back the covers a little revealing that a new program called “Iron Hand” — that follows up on the Treadstone and Blackbriar programs of the original ‘Bourne’ trilogy — is operating and “its even worse than before” (of course it is).
We can kind of glean with past interviews with Paul Greengrass that Parsons has come out of her own exile — she went rogue and into hiding at the end of “The Bourne Ultimatum” — to inform Bourne of these new programs. Bourne, in Greece at the time, is spotted and then hunted down by the CIA (represented by Tommy Lee Jones in this film). But there also appears to be a huge spoiler in the TV spot (you’ve been warned).
It appears as if Nicky Parsons is killed by one of the assassins in the film played by Vincent Cassel. Does this further fuel Bourne’s motivation? It sure looks like it. Time will soon tell. The new ‘Bourne’ film also features Alicia Vikander, Riz Ahmed, Ato Essandoh and Scott Shepherd who returns as the deputy director of the CIA, but it’s unclear if David Strathairn or Joan Allen are also on board (though I suspect we’ll see them in cameos at least). It will also be interesting if ‘Bourne’ considers any of the events of Tony Gilroy’s “The Bourne Legacy” or if they will mostly pretend it didn’t happen.
On top of the new revealing TV spot, there’s new images and a fairly recent featurette you can check out too. “Jason Bourne” returns July 29th.
You have no idea who you're dealing with. This July, Matt Damon is #JasonBourne.https://t.co/49DkZZdaBZ
— #JasonBourne (@jasonbourne) June 7, 2016
