‘Bourne 4′ Is On The Way, But Script Troubles Are Not Helping

Ok, so that’s not an actual title. It would be pretty funny if it was though, as it does shed some light on the potential future adventures of the most badass super spy in movies. After the impressive debut of The Bourne Identity in 2002 and the explosive success of The Bourne Supremacy in 2004, Matt Damon and Supremacy/Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass decided to return one more time for a third and final installment of the Bourne series. However as they say, money talks. After The Bourne Ultimatum raked in an August record-breaking $227 million domestically, won three academy awards and across-the-board critical acclaim in 2007, Damon, Greengrass and Universal decided that only three Bourne adventures was simply not enough.

The fourth Bourne movie, that is currently being labeled as Bourne 4 , was announced back in October of 2008 with Damon and Greengrass officially signed on to direct and star, and Ultimatum screenwriter George Nolfi to pen the script. This will be the first Bourne film not to be based on the novels by author Robert Ludlum. It now appears that Universal is not happy with Nolfi’s initial draft because they just hired screenwriter Joshua Zetumer to draft a “parallel script.” Sometimes when studios are not confident with a script, they hire a additional screenwriters to come up with separate drafts, incorporating some elements of the original draft, called parallel scripts. I guess it’s a way to ensure creative success with multiple perspectives. However, this approach has proven to be unsuccessful in the past, as parallel scripts were written for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and we all know how that turned out.

Back in April, producer Frank Marshall said that Universal is hoping to have Bourne 4 released in theaters in the  Summer of 2011, and that they would have a draft by June. Well, with the hiring of Zetumer for this parallel draft, that time table could and will most likely change. Matt Damon recently elaborated on the status of Bourne 4 to Entertainment Weekly, saying:

“We’re hoping to make a fourth, but we don’t have a story and we don’t have a script. I assume it can happen, but we have to come up with a storyline that’s deserving. I mean, if you see the Bourne character come out again and say, ‘I can’t remember,’ you’re going to get up and leave the theater.”

As I alluded to in the image above, Marshall has previously stated that he would like to see Bourne go to South America in his next adventure. I don’t think it would be a road trip though, unfortunately.

So for now, I guess we’re just going to have to wait and see.

What Do You Think? Discuss.