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Louise Thomas
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There will not be a new Jason Bourne film, according to the franchise’s most prolific director –despite the request of Prince William.
A total of five Jason Bourne movies were released between 2002 and 2016, with Matt Damon playing the amnesiac CIA assassin in four of the films. The last film, called Jason Bourne, saw Damon given just 25 lines of dialogue.
Jeremy Renner played the lead role in the only entry into the franchise not starring Damon, 2012’s The Bourne Legacy.
The series was highly successful, with Captain Phillips director Paul Greengrass helming three of the films yet it would appear that he has no desire to return to that world despite Prince William saying that he’s a fan.
PA reports that William clasped his hands together and told the film-maker “another Bourne, another Bourne” when he visited Bafta offices in central London to meet students benefiting from a Bafta bursary in his name.
The Times reports that Greengrass just laughed and shook his head in response.
After meeting William, the director said about making a new instalment of the Bourne franchise: “Not for me, they need somebody younger, I’ve done my bit. But I hope they get somebody great and young to do it, I think they’re in the process.”
In 2020 it was reported that Frank Marshall, the producer of the franchise was looking to make another Bourne movie with a new director.
Leading British actors Andy Serkis, Celia Imrie and Stephen Merchant also attended the event and spoke of the importance of supporting the next generation.
Imrie told the future king: “I was a chorus girl, I know how important it is to go up the ladder.”
Greengrass is also a champion of Bafta’s bursary which funds practical support such as buying equipment or paying for driving lessons to enable workers to get to a film set.
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The prince is president of Bafta and the director said about his work with the organisation: “Prince William does such an amazing job of pulling together all these different initiatives that create pathways for young people because it’s so important in our business – pathways in.
“Somebody who’s 17 or 18 coming into our business, learning to drive is essential if they can be supported to drive suddenly they’ve got a passport. That’s the idea of this, it’s small initiatives, many of them that make big impacts.”
The Prince William Bafta Bursary Fund was founded in 2021 to offer creatives starting their careers vital grants to progress their career in film, games or television with Greengrass making the inaugural donation for the fund. Bafta also separately awards annual scholarships.
When chatting to the acting stars, William told Merchant he was a fan of his newest project, The Outlaws, a group of people from all walks of life who are doing community service together, telling the actor he was “loving” the series.
“I’ve been watching that a lot, I think we have a similar sense of humour,” he added.
The event also showcased the work of MA students from the National Film and Television School supported by the Royal Africa Society, which promotes the continent and William supports as royal patron.
When he chatted to some of the students about how different platforms compete for your attention, he talked about his own family describing how the “children wrestle over the remote control”.
The students have also been helping to organise the society’s Africa film festival and he told another group: “What I love about films is there’s so many different varieties you can have such an extreme mix.”
He added: “That’s what makes it exciting – you don’t know what’s coming next.”
Additional reporting by PA.
