Matt Damon will be back for Bourne

CEBU, Philippines – After reports surfaced this summer claiming that Matt Damon would not be reprising his role as Jason Bourne, it appears the star has changed his mind.

E! News caught up with the actor and his close friend Ben Affleck on the red carpet as they celebrated season four of their resurrected passion project, Project Greenlight.

Affleck (accidently?) revealed a big casting announcement. “[Damon’s] going to be doing a Bourne movie next fall when I’ve just completely lost any semblance of physical fitness,” Affleck said.

“Yes, next year,” Damon responded when asked for clarification. “It’ll be in 2016 when the movie will actually come out.”

Damon and director Paul Greengrass are reuniting for their third collaboration in the Bourne universe and the fifth film in the series overall. The big-screen hit, which has earned millions at the box office, was originally inspired by the novel series written by the late Robert Ludlum.

Greengrass directed the second and third installments of the original trilogy starring Damon, “The Bourne Supremacy” (2004) and “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007). Jeremy Renner picked up the franchise’s mantle for 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy,” and was to star in a 2016 sequel.

Late last year, fans received tough news from Greengrass who revealed he had no interest in directing another Bourne movie. “I felt I had given it my all in two films I’m very proud of and didn’t want to make another if I didn’t believe it could be as good if not better,” he said. “I couldn’t come up with an idea, and the business reality of franchises is that when a studio has a Bourne, they’re obliged to make one every couple of years. I discovered in my heart I didn’t have another one in me.”

He added, “The best thing was to move on, have someone else come in and make their mark on it.”

Lucky for movie fans, there’s nothing wrong with having a change of heart in Hollywood.