'Bourne' lives on with new poster and trailer

Posted Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 4:39 PM Central
Last updated Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 4:42 PM Central

by John Couture

So, Matt Damon didn't want to make any more Jason Bourne, that's ok. The studio just went to the next actor on their list and decided to reboot the franchise.

If you think about it, the only franchise where this level of actor switching has worked is when the character in question is Bond. James Bond. So, for Universal to decide to move forward with another Bourne movie took some real cajones.

Of course, it helps when the next guy up is Jeremy Renner.

For the actor that really established himself with 2009's The Hurt Locker, 2012 is looking to be the year of Renner with not one, but two surefire blockbusters coming out this Summer. We all knew he would make a big splash in The Avengers, but we were a bit leery with The Bourne Legacy.

I mean how do you honestly step into Matt Damon's shoes? He owned that role and I've been more than skeptical about this project since it was announced.

Then today, I watched the teaser trailer for The Bourne Legacy.

First, I loved the artistic way they revealed Jeremy Renner without giving away anything. Next, I thought the idea of rebooting the franchise around Renner's character who isn't Bourne exactly, but is another soldier in the same top secret program. Theoretically, if Damon ever decides to get back into the Bourne business, both he and Renner could both headline a cross-over.

Now, that would be pretty sweet.

As my colleague Tim said today, when studios see how successful this type of reboot will be come August 3, there is going to be a slew of these type of reboots getting the green light.

I can't speak for those, but I can speak for The Bourne Legacy and what I've seen so far makes me want to see more. Dare I say that 2012 just got a little bigger? Check out the trailer below for yourself and let us know what you think.