‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ is widely regarded as the highest point of the ‘Bourne’ franchise. Released in 2007 as the third and concluding installment in the trilogy, the movie was a critical and commercial smash, cementing Matt Damon‘s portrayal of Jason Bourne as one of the defining action heroes of the 21st century.
But one person who might disagree with Jason Bourne fans is Damon himself. In fact, he once publicly called out the movie, leading to a feud that changed the course of the ‘Bourne’ franchise forever.
Matt Damon Publicly Slammed ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ Script
Based on the spy novels by Robert Ludlum, the ‘Bourne’ films follow Matt Damon in the role of Jason Bourne, a government assassin struggling with amnesia and searching for the truth about his past.
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After the success of ‘The Bourne Identity’ (2002) and ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ (2004), the stakes were very high for ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’. These three Bourne films were all co-written by Tony Gilroy, but tensions started to build while making the last one.
In a now-infamous 2011 interview with GQ, Matt Damon publicly called out Gilroy for delivering an unusable script for the movie:
“I don’t blame Tony for taking a boatload of money and handing in what he handed in. It’s just that it was unreadable. This is a career-ender. I mean, I could put this thing up on eBay, and it would be game over for that dude. It’s terrible. It’s really embarrassing. He was having a go, basically, and he took his money and left.”
According to Damon, Director Paul Greengrass and the production team essentially rebuilt the movie from the ground up. During a 2007 interview with Collider, Damon explained that writers Scott Z. Burns and George Nolfi were constantly rewriting scenes throughout production, sometimes finishing pages only hours before filming.
How The Fallout Changed Bourne Franchise Forever
The conflict wasn’t simply about one screenplay. Reportedly, Gilroy was already frustrated with Greengrass for drastically changing ‘The Bourne Supremacy’. The movie constantly focused on action rather than a more character-driven approach that Gilroy wanted.
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Fans have also noticed this difference. In ‘The Bourne Identity’, Jason Bourne is much more talkative and expressive. But by ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ and ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’, much of the character’s dialogue was stripped away.
The situation became even more awkward when Damon made his comments while Gilroy was directing ‘The Bourne Legacy’, the 2012 spin-off starring Jeremy Renner, which didn’t include either Greengrass or Damon.
Gilroy admitted that he was shocked by Damon’s remarks, telling Empire magazine, “I don’t understand that at all. I don’t know where it came from. I think Matt is one of the greatest actors of his generation.”
Damon eventually regretted taking the dispute public. He later publicly apologized: “My feelings were hurt. That’s all,” Damon said. “This is between me and him. So, saying anything publicly is stupid and unprofessional.”
By the time Damon and Greengrass reunited in 2016 for ‘Jason Bourne’, Gilroy was no longer involved. The franchise continued, but the partnership that built its foundation had come to an end. Ironically, ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ remains the most celebrated movie in the whole franchise, and we might never get another one like it.
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