Although production began on the fifth Jason Bourne movie last month, the cast of the Paul Greengrass film continues to grow as Variety reports that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star Riz Ahmed has signed on for a supporting role. According to the trade, Riz Ahmed will play a CIA tech specialist.
The still-untitled fifth entry in the action franchise, Bourne 5 will feature the return of Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon to the title role with The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum helmer Paul Greengrass back in the director’s chair.
Little is known about the plot of the new film, although it has been confirmed that it will not feature a crossover between Damon’s Bourne and Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross. Julia Stiles will be reprising her franchise role, however, with Ex Machina and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.‘s Alicia Vikander also set to star alongside franchise newcomers Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassell and Scott Shepherd. Although still unconfirmed, Jones is rumored to be playing a high-ranking CIA official with Cassell starring as the film’s chief antagonist, an assassin on Jason Bourne’s tail.
“Without giving too much of it away, it’s Bourne through an austerity-riddled Europe and in a post-Snowden world,” Damon recently told BuzzFeed about the sequel. “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.”
According to the trade, Riz Ahmed was always the first choice for his Bourne 5 role, although scheduling with production on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a bit of a hurdle. Fortunately, Riz Ahmed will now be able to do both with Bourne 5 slated to hit the big screen July 29, 2016 and Rogue One following on December 16, 2016.
Frank Marshall is producing the new Bourne movie alongside Jeffrey Weiner for Captivate Entertainment. Greengrass, Damon and Greg Goodman also attached to produce.
