James Franco for The Bourne Legacy?

2011 is already looking like the year James Franco finally turns into a megastar.

With a mixture of Oscar-worthy ( Howl , 127 Hours ), franchise-fodder ( Rise Of The Apes ) and awesome ( Your Highness ) all slated, we're already predicting 2011 will be Franco's year.

But it looks like he could be about to stake his claim on 2012, too. If the rumour-mill's to be believed, Franco is about to play the lead in the Bourne franchise.

And James is just about the only person we can think of who could come close to replacing Damon. It seems director Tony Gilroy agrees.

On replacing Damon, Gilroy said: "I couldn't imagine trying to replace him. All the conspiratorial politics aside, these are very uncynical, honest movies, and I don't know another actor who brings more integrity and dignity, and a lack of cynicism, to his work than Matt."

We do. James Franco. Let's hope this rumour turns factual soon.

Sam Ashurst is a London-based film maker, journalist, and podcast host. He's the director of Frankenstein's Creature, A Little More Flesh + A Little More Flesh 2, and co-hosts the Arrow Podcast. His words have appeared on HuffPost, MSN, The Independent, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, and many more, as well as of course for us here at GamesRadar+.