French star Vincent Cassel (‘Trance,’ ‘Black Swan,’ ‘Partisan’) has landed the villain role opposite Matt Damon in the next instalment of the Jason Bourne franchise, says Variety.
Plot details for the untitled action thriller are unknown; however, Damon recently revealed that former CIA employee Edward Snowden’s NSA whistleblowing inspired the new film:
“Without giving too much of it away, it’s Bourne through an austerity-riddled Europe and in a post-Snowden world,” Damon told BuzzFeed. “It seems like enough has changed, you know? There are all these kinds of arguments about spying and civil liberties and the nature of democracy.”
The fifth outing of Bourne reunites Damon and Paul Greengrass, who directed 2004’s ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ and 2007’s ‘The Bourne Ultimatum.’
Alicia Vikander (‘Ex Machina,’ ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’) and Tommy Lee Jones (‘The Homesman,’ ‘Lincoln’) are also on board, and Julia Stiles is set to reprise her role as Agent Nicky Parsons.
Producers include Frank Marshall, Jeffrey Weiner, Greengrass, Damon, Greg Goodman and Ben Smith. Filming is expected to get underway shortly with release slated for July 2016.