Matt Damon: Next 'Bourne' Role Might Have to Wait Five Years

With Universal moving forward with The Bourne Legacy -- the fourth installment of the Jason Bourne franchise -- without Matt Damon or director Paul Greengrass, the stage is set for a potential cinematic showdown between a sequel by the original duo and the rethought version by the studio and Tony Gilroy.

At the Critics' Choice Awards on Friday, night following his acceptance of the Joel Siegel Award for Service to the Community, Damon spoke candidly backstage about his hopes to make another film and the reasons for the delay in production.

“I really hope it’s going to happen," he said, adding that the decision didn't fall entirely on his shoulders.

“It’s really up to Paul Greengrass, the director. I’ve always said I won’t do it without him and I think it would be a bad idea to do it without Paul.”

In October, it was announced that Universal was going ahead with another film helmed by Michael Clayton and Duplicity director Gilroy. Damon was not consulted.

“I think Paul’s probably going to do one or two other films that he’s got kind of cooking but after that [maybe they would start working on a Bourne film]," he continued. "I think it’s kind of the thing where enough time has passed that I think it won’t matter if we wait five more years to do it.”

Despite the scrutiny on him and Greengrass, Damon was adamant they sidestep the pitfalls of making the film for the wrong reasons.

"We just want to make sure if we do it, that we do it right. There’s been a lot of pressure for us to do it obviously but that’s that moment I think where you got to step back and make sure you’re not making a mistake. So when it feels like the right time, I think Paul would be open to doing it.”