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Bond and Bourne movies move ahead

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass plotting Jason Bourne reunion, while Christoph Waltz joins the cast of James Bond 24.

Christoph Waltz, the Oscar-winning Austrian who gave Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained much-needed heft, has joined the cast of the 24th James Bond picture, still untitled and about to start production in  the U.K. While story elements haven't been revealed, speculation is that Waltz -- very soon to be seen in Horrible Bosses 2 and Big Eyes – will be playing the antagonist to Daniel Craig's Agent 007. Other newcomers to the upcoming installment of the centuries-old franchise include Blue Is the Warmest Color star Léa Seydoux and Guardians of The Galaxy's Dave Bautista, who some Bond watchers are tagging for the role of an "iconic henchman," along the lines of the early pics' Oddjob and Jaws. Skyfall's  Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw are expected to return for the 24th, which Skyfall's Sam Mendes is directing, for a November, 2015 release.

And as for that other spy guy with the matching monogram and his own shelf of bestsellers, the 4th Jason Bourne thriller, reuniting The Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass with Matt Damon, is gearing up for production in the new year, and a release date for 2016. Damon and Greengrass' return to the franchise doesn't mean that The Bourne Legacy spinoff starring Jeremy Renner as rogue agent Aaron Cross, is dead. Renner has said that he and writer/director Tony Gilroy are plotting a Cross sequel, and that there's room in the Bourne universe for both of the CIA-trained assassins to operate.