Jeremy Renner In The Bourne Legacy

According to Deadline, Universal announced today that it has offered the lead in the new film, The Bourne Legacy, to actor Jeremy Renner. With production set to begin in September, this new movie centers around an operative from a covert government program similar to, but much more dangerous than the Treadstone program that spawned Bourne. The film will be written and directed by Terry Gilroy, who also wrote the first three Bourne films.


Universal tested several other actors including Joel Edgerton, Garrett Hedlund, Luke Evans and Dominic Cooper. After careful consideration, the studio elected to go with Renner, who will be playing Tom Cruise's protege in the upcoming Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. He's also slated to star as Hawkeye in the upcoming Marvel film The Avengers and his character has a cameo in Thor. He's also battling evil magic in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Renner really seems to be hitting his stride since his Oscar-nominated performance in Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. He's a strong actor with great presence that will certainly match Damon's. Do you think Renner has what it takes to wear the Bourne mantle?