Watch: New 'The Bourne Legacy' Trailer Nods To The Past & Excitingly Strides Into The Future

nullForget Jason Bourne….meet Aaron Cross. Universal has the tricky task of enticing viewers to be 'Bourne' again (ha ha) with a new installment in the franchise that links to the past mostly in name, and has a new face in Jeremy Renner leading the charge. And while the teaser trailer did a good job of keeping things mysterious while promising to deliver on action, the new full-length trailer, which just premiered at Apple, puts Renner front and center and gives a more complete picture of the world we're going to be stepping into.

As was noted before and is heard again here, Aaron Cross is "Treadstone without the inconsistency." He's part of Outcome, another program designed to build ruthless assassins, and it looks like instead of one agent gone rogue like Jason Bourne, the whole thing is coming undone. David Strathairn is back trying to manage the damage control, and while it seems the decision has been made to put down many of the agents of the field, there is something about Aaron Cross that makes him less expendable, but still a major threat.

Rachel Weisz emerges as the co-lead here, running alongside Cross as he fights to stay alive, and she seems a bit in the dark about just what the nature of Outcome is. We also get our first look at fellow agent Oscar Isaac, whose loyalties are uncertain. Still kept somewhat under wraps is Edward Norton as the villain, but it's kind of refreshing not to have the whole game given away. Nicely woven in are nods to Jason Bourne — his name etched in some wood, his face on a computer screen — and as writer/director Tony Gilroy told us recently, the events of "The Bourne Ultimatum" figure in the background in the opening ten-to-fifteen minutes of "The Bourne Legacy." But an interesting and exciting concept emerges here: the 'Legacy' is much more than just a simple sequel — it appears to be running in a parallel overlap from the events of 'Ultimatum.' Pretty damn clever.

The action looks brisk and exciting, and Renner seems solid in the lead. All in all, "The Bourne Legacy" looks very promising and we'll see the results when it opens on August 3rd. Watch below, or check out in HD over at Apple.

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