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James Newton Howard takes over the composing reigns from John Powell in the fourth instalment of the Bourne franchise, The Bourne Legacy
The Bourne Legacy, the fourth film in the Bourne franchise, sees a new lead and a new soundtrack composer. Not only does Jeremy Renner step into Matt Damon’s shoes, but James Newton Howard takes over the score-composing reigns from John Powell who scored all three of the previous films for The Bourne Legacy
The first three films, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum were all based on Robert Ludlum’s novels of the same name, but the Bourne Legacy moves away from the original books with a new hero whose storyline runs alongside Jason Bourne’s escapades in the previous film the Bourne Ultimatum.
In the Bourne Ultimatum in which CIA agent Jason Bourne breaks ranks with the organisation after a British journalist is shot dead after exposing some sinister goings within its walls.
Bourne wasn’t alone in his crusade against his former employers, and the Bourne Legacy follows Aaron Cross, another agent created by the same spy program that launched Jason Bourne, criss-crossing the globe with government scientist Dr Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) as they runs from the forces trying to kill them.
The film stars Edward Norton as the director of two sinister programmes who is hell-bent on tracking down and killing erstwhile agents Cross and Bourne and despatching with Dr Martha.
Cross, like Bourne, is a physically and mentally enhanced agent, although he was especially created in a military programme called Outcome and not in the CIA one, Treadstone as Bourne was. After Bourne compromises the programme, Colonel Byer (Ed Norton) orders all traces of everyone involved.
Renner’s big break-through role was as Sergeant First Class William James in the Oscar-winning film, Hurtlocker.
This isn’t James Newton Howard’s, who is best known for his work with director M. Night Shyamalan, first collaboration with American director Tony Gilroy. Newton Howard worked with Gilroy on the director’s first two films, Michael Clayton and Duplicity.
Oscar nominated Newton Howard is one of Hollywood’s most respected composers having written the soundtrack for, amongst others, The Fugitive, Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense, as well as the theme tune to TV series ER.
Newton Howard’s soundtrack comprises 25 original works by the composer and finishing with a track by Moby called ‘Extreme Ways’.