Summary
- Bourne 6 needs to bring back Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross for the movie to truly work and further develop the Jason Bourne franchise.
- The idea of a showdown between Matt Damon's Jason Bourne and Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross is an exciting concept that would elevate Bourne 6.
- Aaron Cross's story is just as important as Jason Bourne's in order for the Bourne franchise to properly conclude and give fans closure.
Bourne 6 can bring many new elements to the Jason Bourne franchise, but the return of Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross is something it cannot overlook. Matt Damon would leap into action movie stardom with his portrayal of the amnesiac Jason Bourne in 2002's The Bourne Identity (based upon Robert Ludlum's 1980 novel). As Bourne regains his memory, he comes to realize that he is a highly skilled assassin in the employ of the Treadstone organization. The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum would subsequently continue Bourne's story, with Damon's anti-hero rebeling against Treadstone and discovering his real identity of David Webb.
Matt Damon's departure from the Bourne movies would lead the franchise to shift gears in 2012's The Bourne Legacy, which would tell a parallel story to Bourne's with Jeremy Renner taking center stage as Bourne's fellow assassin Aaron Cross. Eventually, both Damon and director Paul Greengrass would return for 2016's Jason Bourne, but despite becoming the second highest grossing Bourne movie after 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, Bourne 6 has spent years struggling to get off the ground. For Bourne 6 to truly work, however, the movie needs to bring Renner back as Aaron Cross.
4 Jeremy Renner Had An Impossible Job Replacing Matt Damon
With the Bourne franchise having grown more popular with each of its first three installments, The Bourne Legacy would face the novel and very challenging task of creating a Bourne action movie sans Jason Bourne. Jeremy Renner would have an advantange in coming off his portrayal of Hawkeye in 2012's summer mega-hit The Avengers, which made him an instantly recognizable protagonist. With such a near insurmountable challenge built into The Bourne Legacy, Renner's physicality and commitment to his portrayal of Aaron Cross would make him into a worthy spy-assassin anti-hero on Bourne's level, and one who could elevate Bourne 6 greatly.
3 Every Bourne Fan Wants To See Matt Damon Vs. Jeremy Renner
As seen in the first three Bourne films (and later, his return in Jason Bourne), Bourne is a deadly assassin, with only a handful of opponents able to hold their own against him. With the same kind of training, fighting skills, assassin history, and even some physical enhacements with The Bourne Legacy's "chem" pills, Cross would undoubtedly be a worthy opponent in a fight with Bourne. Even though they would certainly end up on the same side eventually, the idea of Jason Bourne vs. Aaron Cross is far too exciting a concept for the Bourne franchise to not deliver. Bourne 6 would be just the place to make it happen.
2 Matt Damon's Return Proved Renner Wasn't The Bourne Franchise's Problem
While The Bourne Legacy would see a mixed reception and not rise to the box office heights of The Bourne Ultimatum, the return of Bourne himself in 2016's Jason Bourne did not take the series back to its glory days either. Though Matt Damon would still be in top form as Bourne, the movie itself took him through a scattershot plot with non-stop shaky cam in its action scenes. However, with a tighter story and the combined energy of Damon and Renner in a Bourne-Cross double-header, Bourne 6 could be the return to form the Bourne franchise has been waiting for.
1 Aaron Cross Can Help Give The Bourne Franchise Closure
The arcs of both Jason Bourne and Aaron Cross in the Bourne franchise has been their parallel efforts to escape the shadowy assassin programs that made both of them into killing machines. For as much as The Bourne Legacy is based on the impact of Bourne going rogue, Cross himself would have the same impact on the overall series. In a very real way, the Bourne series would not be complete simply by telling one final chapter with Bourne himself, with Aaron Cross's story being just as important to wrap up for the franchise to truly conclude properly.
Despite the slow development of Bourne 6, every factor of the Bourne franchise's trajectory shows that bringing Aaron Cross back into the mix is the best formula for success. While a Bourne-Cross showdown could be the easiest foundation to build the next Bourne film on, Cross's entry into the series as a surrogate Bourne would reveal the world of Jason Bourne to be so much bigger than one assassin. Finally concluding the franchise with Bourne 6 would call upon it to be Jason Bourne's most harrowing mission ever, and the best he could have for such a mission is most certainly Aaron Cross.
