22 years after The Bourne Identity, Matt Damon reflects on a "radically different" experience working with director Doug Liman on new movie The Instigators

EntertainmentMoviesThriller Movies22 years after The Bourne Identity, Matt Damon reflects on a “radically different” experience working with director Doug Liman on new movie The InstigatorsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

EntertainmentMoviesThriller Movies22 years after The Bourne Identity, Matt Damon reflects on a “radically different” experience working with director Doug Liman on new movie The InstigatorsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: AppleTV+)

Casey Affleck, Dough Liman, and Matt Damon behind the scenes on The Instigators

Upcoming thriller action flickThe Instigatorsmarks not only Matt Damon’s return to the genre but his reunion with director Doug Liman 22 years after the release of The Bourne Identity, which star Damon says was a radically different experience to the new movie.

“Thankfully, we’re both 20 years older and more experienced,” says Damon, speaking to GamesRadar+ and the Inside Total Film podcast. “But yeah, the first time I worked with him, it was pretty fraught, and the word on the street in Hollywood was that it was a bomb because our release date got pushed and all this stuff, and so we all thought we were in trouble.”

Fast forward to 2024, Damon and Liman are back together on Apple TV Plus comedic thriller The Instigators. But back when the project was just getting off the ground and needed a director, Damon knew who to call. “I said, ‘Let me send it to Doug and see if he’s interested’ and that was that,” adds Damon. “I love Doug, and I love the way he works, and I love his body of work. [His] movies are all wonderful. They’re all very different, and they’re totally all really unique. And that’s what we needed with this one.”

The new movie doesn’t just include a reunion between Damon and Liman, but also between Damon andDownsizingstar Hong Chau, and of course Damon and his long-term friend and acting buddy Casey Affleck. “Yeah. I mean that I love this job so much, and the only thing better than doing it is doing it with people that I care about and really admire. And so any chance I get to do that, I’ll do it,” says Damon.

The Instigators stars Damon and Affleck as unlikely partners thrown together for a heist, only for it to go awry and attract the attention of police, bureaucrats, and a mafia boss. The cast also includes Hong Chau, Jack Harlow, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ron Perlman.

The interview above is just a snippet from our talk with The Instigators stars Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, and Hong Chau. Listen out for the full interview in this week’s episode of theInside Total Film podcastavailable on Friday, August 9, 2024.

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The Instigators premieres on Apple TV Plus on August 9. For more, check out our list of thebest action movies, or keep up withnew moviesheading your way this year.

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