Earlier this week, Universal Pictures announced that its sequel to 2012's action-thriller The Bourne Legacy has been shifted from a August 14, 2015 release to July 15, 2016, reportedly to make room for the studio's biopic Straight Outta Compton which took the August 14, 2015 slot. An unconfirmed report from Latino-Review claims the real reason for the delay is that Matt Damon has finally agreed to reprise his role as Jason Bourne.

It isn't clear how director Justin Lin managed to convince Matt Damon to come back, especially since the actor has repeatedly stated in the past that he will only return to the franchise if The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass is back at the helm. The actor did reveal last month that he is open to returning, if he and Paul Greengrass can find a story they like, even suggesting that fans submit their own stories to Universal Pictures.

The Bourne Legacy sequel is going up Ice Age 5 in its new July 15, 2016 release date. Since the last entry in that animated franchise, Ice Age: Continental Drift, made $877 million worldwide, the site speculates that Universal wouldn't put this follow-up to The Bourne Legacy, which only earned $276 million worldwide, against this animated juggernaut unless it has, "a serious ace up its sleeve," which they believe is Matt Damon.

Andrew Baldwin came aboard last month to rewrite the original script by Anthony Peckham (Sherlock Holmes), so it's possible that Matt Damon sparked to the writer's new take. Latino-Review's source also believes that Matt Damon's recent box office failures, such as The Monuments Men and Promised Land, may have lead to his return.

Universal Pictures has yet to confirm that Matt Damon is coming back as Jason Bourne, but if he does, he will star alongside Jeremy Renner, who played Aaron Cross in The Bourne Legacy. Are you excited for Matt Damon to play Jason Bourne again? Let us know what you think below.