WARNING: This article contains potential spoilers for Jason Bourne.
The party line when it comes to why Jason Bourne returns to action is that he is enlisted by the CIA to take down a rogue organisation, but The Bourne Ultimatum's ending makes it pretty clear that Matt Damon's $30 million weapon is not interested in working for the government. As such, he'll probably require a little more motivation before coming out of hiding, and the latest TV spot for the film has given us a big, spoilery hint at what that impetus might be.
You have no idea who you're dealing with. This July, Matt Damon is #JasonBourne.https://t.co/49DkZZdaBZJune 7, 2016
The potential spoiler comes at the 15 second mark; Bourne's facial expression points to someone he cares about having just died, and when you take into account the rest of the footage we've already seen - plus the sparse number of Bourne's friends and allies - it seems like Julia Stiles' Nicky will be killed off early in the film.
Should this turn out to be true, it's disappointing on a few levels; hinting at it in a TV spot - which is otherwise very exciting, I should note - is a bad call. Furthermore, not only have we already had a similar plot occurrence in this very series - Marie's death in The Bourne Supremacy sent Jason after her killers - Nicky's death would mean the loss of a smart and capable female character.
Admittedly I could be jumping the gun here - indeed, I hope I am completely wrong about this - but I'm not getting that impression. Regardless, I'm still looking forward to Bourne's return to cinema screens, if only to see what everyday object he finds a better use for this time round.
Directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Matt Damon, Alicia Vikander, Julia Stiles, Vincent Cassel, Tommy Lee Jones, and Riz Ahmed, Jason Bourne is released in UK cinemas on July 27, 2016 before opening in US theatres a day later on July 29, 2016.
Images: Universal Pictures
