Matt Damon Is Welcome Back To 'Bourne' Franchise, Producer Says

The Bourne Legacy, the fourth installment in the Jason Bourne series of films, is slated to come out in August, but the new flick has raised controversy based on the fact that it doesn't feature Jason Bourne as a character, hence, Matt Damon is also conspicuously missing, having been replaced by The Hurt Locker and The Avengers' Jeremy Renner as a new trained operative named Aaron Cross. But Frank Marshall, who had a hand in producing all of the Bourne installments — The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2003), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), and now 2012's The Bourne Legacy — is making it clear that, as far as he's concerned, Damon hasn't been shut out of the franchise.

"You see, there are several different programs in [Legacy] with different skill sets," Marshall explained, reports Empire. "All possibilities are open. My dream is that the next one we see Matt and Jeremy team up."

Perhaps Marshall is going on the record to reveal that he's not aligned with the brief feud between Damon and The Bourne Legacy director Tony Gilroy that happened during the film's production. Damon, who is highly loyal to Paul Greengrass (the director of the second and third installments — Bourne Ultimatum and Bourne Supremacy), according to Entertainment Weekly, suggested that Gilroy, who previously wrote for the series, penned a shoddy script for Ultimatum. "He was having a go, basically," Damon said at the time of Gilroy. "And he took his money and left."

Though Damon later publically apologized about his comments, calling them "douchey," there has been no indication that he would consider going back to the Bourne series.

The Bourne Legacy, starring Renner, Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz, Joan Allen, David Straithairn, Albert Finney and Stacy Keach, will hit theaters on August 12, 2012.

For more on The Bourne Legacy:

Jeremy Renner Debuts In 'The Bourne Legacy' Trailer

WATCH: 'The Bourne Legacy' Trailer Starring Jeremy Renner

SPOILERS: Jeremy Renner Dishes About New 'Bourne' Movie

Jeremy Renner & His Mom

REVIEW: The Town

Matt Damon Insults 'Bourne' Writer Tony Gilroy

Matt Damon Won't Return For New 'Bourne' Film

Matt Damon In 'The Bourne Identity'

VIDEO: Ben Affleck Is Not Feuding With Matt Damon

Matt Damon Welcomes Baby Girl