Variety has a fairly extensive article about the future of Universal Studios following the end of the writers strike, as they plan to increase production including a number of high-profile projects and franchises they hope to start and relaunch in the next year, including the first news that Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon have agreed to do a fourth movie for the studio.
You can read the entire article here, but some of the key points of interest include the Bourne 4 news:
More recently, Shmuger and Linde landed Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon for a fourth “Bourne” movie, even though the director and star seemed ready to wrap it up after three pics.
Also, the article talks about how the studio hopes to keep director Guillermo del Toro from going off to do two The Hobbit movies for Peter Jackson, which might delay his plans to adapt H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness:
The studio gave him a first-look deal, picked up a sequel to “Hellboy” with a budget of more than $80 million, and even bought the rights to his dream project, the H.P. Lovecraft epic, “At the Mountains of Madness.” But U brass was stunned to suddenly see Del Toro emerge as the likely director of the next two “Hobbit” movies for New Line and MGM. That would lock him down for four straight years in New Zealand.
Langley acknowledges, “We’re in discussions with how to rectify that with Guillermo.”
The article also mentions that Sacha Baron Cohen’s follow-up to Borat might be seen sometime in the next year:
Over the next year or so, the full extent of Shmuger and Linde’s slate will be put to the test. The high-profile projects include the George Clooney-directed comedy “Leatherheads,” Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno” (his “Borat” followup)
And the studio plans to make a deal with Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks after their contract with Paramount expires:
A walk around the U lot gives a telling sign of where things stand. Steven Spielberg is embarking on an expensive renovation of his oasis, the offices of Amblin/DreamWorks, just as U looks to land a deal with DreamWorks when the Paramount pact expires.
Plus there’s a lot of discussion about the international potential for the upcoming continuation of the studio’s “Mummy” franchise with the third installment The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor/a> out on August 1.
