The character of Jason Bourne is definitely not appearing in the upcoming The Bourne Legacy. And, according to Matt Damon, it seems nobody even asked…
It's now been 100% confirmed that the next movie in the Jason Bourne franchise, The Bourne Legacy, won't have the character of Bourne in it at all. Instead, under the guidance of director Tony Gilroy, the new film will basically follow someone else in Jason Bourne's world, and, no doubt, a few namedrops will be worked in so that the word Bourne can be kept in the film's title.
However, it turns out that Universal might not even have got in touch about Damon even having a cameo in the new film. In an interview with Parade, he revealed, "I found out they're making another when somebody saw it on the Internet. Nobody bothered to call me. I'm not in it, but even so, they'll work Bourne into the title I guess. Universal just wants to call everything the Bourne something. So I guess they are trying to make another franchise and as they say, 'It isn't over until it's over.'"
To be fair to Universal here, Matt Damon had made it very clear that he wouldn't be returning to the Jason Bourne saga if Paul Greengrass wasn't going to be directing. And Greengrass himself stepped away from the project earlier this year. Still, you do wonder if ten minutes of Damon might do the new film some good.
The current rumoured release for The Bourne Legacy is scheduled for the summer of 2012.