The movie that pissed off Denzel Washington: “He has a nice little franchise going there”
If there’s anyone who knows a thing or two about great movies, it’s Denzel Washington. From winning an Oscar for Training Day to directing and starring in the acclaimed Fences to bringing Malcolm X to life in Spike Lee’s epic, the star has proven himself to be one of the greatest performers of this or any generation. Even if the film itself isn’t great, he’s always a highlight, as he proved with his brilliantly unhinged appearance in Gladiator II.
One thing Washington seems to have stayed away from across his accomplished career is franchise movies. With the notable exception of The Equalizer, which spawned a trilogy, very few of his films get sequels, and even if they do, Washington rarely reprises his role. Perhaps this decision was influenced by a trip he once took to the cinema to watch the second instalment in an iconic spy series.
“I saw The Bourne Supremacy the other day and it pissed me off,” he told Phase 9. “He has a nice little franchise going there.” The ‘he’ Washington is referring to almost certainly Matt Damon, who starred as amnesiac espionage agent Jason Bourne in four movies between 2002 and 2016. He first took on the role in The Bourne Identity, before completing the original trilogy with 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum. When Damon decided not to return to the franchise, Jeremy Renner was cast as new character Alex Cross, although the series maintained its ‘Bourne’ motif with 2012’s The Bourne Legacy. Four years later, Damon decided he wanted one more go with the character, starring in the bluntly-titled Jason Bourne.
The Bourne Supremacy, which sees the titular agent attempt to uncover more about his mysterious past, gained director Paul Greengrass after Doug Liman walked away from the series. The movie was just as exciting and well-paced as its revoluionary predecessor and, more importantly for the studios, it made more money. So what is Washington’s beef with it? Well, as it turns out, he might have actually been ‘pissed off’ in a good way.
The Flight star was there to promote his upcoming movie Man on Fire, in which he plays CIA agent-turned-body John Creasy. The character comes from a series of novels by A J Quinnell, something Washington wasn’t aware of until the interviewer pointed it out. “I honestly did not know about those other books, so thank you for that. Maybe I could do another one of these Creasy stories,” he said. In fact, four more novels featuring the character were released between 1992 and 1996. Unfortunately, Creasy dies at the end of Man on Fire, but Washington, ever the entrepreneur, had an idea to get around that – “we can just say that he fell asleep at the end of this one.”
Interestingly, there was an alternative ending to the film in which Creasy survives his initial injuries, but kills himself anyway to take down the main villain. Man on Fire was a major financial success, so they could have easily made another one if they wanted to, but alas, it never happened.
Was Washington annoyed at The Bourne Supremacy? Or was he just jealous of Matt Damon’s cushy position? We may never know the answer, but even with just one big franchise to his name, it’s safe to say that Washington has still done more than alright for himself.
