There’s no doubt that the Universal Bourne series spinoff “The Bourne Legacy” has been one of the biggest casting tickets in town. Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Kellan Lutz, Joel Edgerton, Josh Hartnett, Paul Dano, Michael Pitt, Oscar Isaac, Michael Fassbender, Luke Evans, Alex Pettyfer and Benjamin Walker have all been tossed around as potential actors to take on the next chapter in the franchise, but it appears one name has risen to the top that hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Latino Review is reporting that Jeremy Renner will soon be receiving an offer for the lead role. Director Tony Gilroy has apparently been meeting with several actors over the past little while to find the right fit for whoever will take on the role in the ongoing saga, but remember, it won’t be the role of Jason Bourne. The door will be left open for Jason Bourne to return, so instead this installment of the series will likely focus on another agent enlisted in the clandestine Operation Treadstone.
It’s easy to see why Universal would want Renner—he’s a two-time Oscar nominee that’s graduating to franchise fare in “Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol” and “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,” yet he’s likely still this side of affordable. Oh yeah, he’s a phenomenal actor to boot. However, Latino Review suggest that internal politics might have kiboshed another actor.
The site suggest that Oscar Isaac (currently in Zack Snyder‘s “Sucker Punch”; and frankly, he was the best thing in it) was actually Tony Gilroy’s top choice and the studio “didn’t approve” for reasons which Latino Review won’t reveal just yet, as they’re saving it for an editorial (we’d wager the studio might be worried the Guatemala-born actor might not have as much international play as Renner).
This news seems to fit with what we’ve been hearing lately that Gilroy has been having trouble and has become somewhat frustrated in locking down his male lead. The director is insisting on screen-testing all the candidates—a move that might alienate the more established thespians—while the director and studio both have their own ideas as to who should take on the juicy lead role. So the question remains: is Renner a compromise? Is Gilroy not getting his way on casting?
All this to say, it’s merely an offer story and by Monday we’re sure more sides of the story will surface. But Renner as the next Bourne? Yeah, we can dig it.