Bourne is back

Matt Damon plays the protagonist in Jason Bourne, the fifth spy thriller of the Bourne series. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Meanwhile, some new stars have become part of the Bourne story. The cast this time includes American veteran Tommy Lee Jones and Vincent Cassel, a French actor well known in the English-speaking world.

Alicia Vikander, the Swedish actress who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress earlier this year for the biographic romance The Danish Girl, plays Heather Lee, a CIA team leader, who turns from Bourne's adversary into his ally.

Speaking of her debut in the Bourne saga, she says: "It's a joy being able to go into a big franchise.

"And with the questions and ideas of today (in the film), it feels it (the franchise) has reinvented itself."

Speaking of the romantic angle in the film, Vikander says while filmgoers often take it for granted that the male and female protagonists in Hollywood action films will fall in love, Jason Bourne is an exception.

"That (the romance) is what people expect, but I think it (the film) should always give audiences something new and fresh. The relationship between Heather Lee and Jason Bourne feels like something I haven't seen before," she says.

Also, the open-ended conclusion of the film offers many possibilities for their relationship to progress.

So, does that mean there is a sequel on the horizon?

Vikander is tactful here, saying: "If there is another film being made, I would be extremely happy if I was invited."

The actress, 28, first hit the headlines for the Danish historical drama A Royal Affair (2012), a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. But she has also done sci-fi and Hollywood action blockbusters in recent years, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ex Machina and an upcoming sequel of the Tomb Raider, in which she plays Lara Croft.

But, despite her choices, Vikander does not plan to say goodbye to art-house and historical dramas.

"If you do those big films, it gives you the freedom and ability to do smaller films and tell smaller stories that you are passionate about. That (art-house films) is still something I want to do and am doing," she says.

Damon is also famed for his versatile performances on screen, including thrillers, art-house films and comedy.

"I don't think there is a genre that I wouldn't be happy to do," he says.

"It really depends on who the director is.

"The technical stuff is easy, but the director is everything."

Damon recently worked with Chinese director Zhang Yimou on the fantasy epic, The Great Wall. Speaking of a future for Bourne in China, he does not rule it out.

"We don't know where we would go," he says.

"But he (Bourne) is a world character, and ... part of the fun is that he can turn up anywhere. And, he can certainly end up here (in China)."

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn

Related: Matt Damon & Alicia Vikander interview - 'Jason Bourne 5'