I guess Edward Norton wasn’t kidding when, in the excellent Bourne Legacy teaser, he hinted that Matt Damon‘s violent escapades were “just the tip of the iceberg.” Writer-director Tony Gilroy has confirmed as much to MTV, saying that his semi-reboot will be both “very ambitious and unusual,” presenting “a much larger world, a much larger conspiracy beyond [the original trilogy].”

And if he’s actually pulled off The Bourne Legacy — please, please let this be the case — expect something that rewards the series’ loyal fans. “What happens in ‘Ultimatum‘ is really the spark that’s blowing open the door to this movie because the Jason Bourne story is exploding out into the public,” said Gilroy, who also hinted that some of Ultimatum — the very end, I would assume — happens in the background of Legacy‘s opening. Here’s hoping there isn’t some confused narrative crossover, a la the mixture of that film’s opening and The Bourne Supremacy‘s ending.

Knowing this, how much will it resemble the Jason Bourne stories? Not a whole lot, since Gilroy feels as though everybody from network TV to James Bond have replicated the visual aesthetics established by Paul Greengrass — so the structure won’t feel all that familiar, either. Unlike Jason Bourne, Jeremy Renner‘s Aaron Cross, “knows exactly where he’s come from [and] knows exactly what the stakes are if he doesn’t achieve his journey.” As someone who found the identity aspects of the Bourne films to be… let’s just say, not as compelling as the conspiracy material, I’d say a shake-up of this sort is in order. The bigger scope was simply expected.

Also, we have two new stills from the film, courtesy of MTV (above) and EW (via ThePlaylist):

The Bourne Legacy opens on August 3rd.

Do Gilroy’s intentions sound right for the Bourne series, even if this is a reboot?