Nikki Rocco, Universal’s President of Domestic Distribution, admits that the studio is “disappointed” at the box office reception to “Green Zone” but also “To tell you the truth, puzzled. You’ve got the same great director and actor, in the same style of film they did in the “Bourne” movies, just in a different place.” She admits that while “It didn’t help that the big kahuna (Tim Burton’s 3D version of “Alice in Wonderland”) was zapping business from everyone, but maybe (war) is something that’s in our face so much every day, people aren’t wanting more of it in their movies.” Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for Hollywood.com, agrees with that assessment, saying the films “look good on paper. You’ve got great casts and directors, built in action and drama – but audiences are voting with their absence.”

The film follows a line of equally unsuccessful Iraq war themed movies, including “The Kingdom”, “Body of Lies”, Robert Redford’s “Flags of Our Fathers”, “Brothers” with Natalie Portman, . Even “The Hurt Locker”, while winning numerous Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow, made little to no impact in terms of commercial box office success.

“It’s great that “Hurt Locker” was made and I’m thrilled it’s getting the recognition that it does,” Greengrass told the BBC. “Speaking as somebody who has tried to make a film set in that part of the world, anybody else who’s done one gets absolutely total respect from me.” Greengrass sees such films as a cultural reaction to the Iraq War debacle, which the majority of people regard as a serious error on the part of the West. “I think many, many people had a sense that something went wrong, that we collectively didn’t quite get things right,” he acknowledges. “Whatever the issues, I think one way and another we’re struggling out the other side – the Chilcot enquiry in this country is part of that, the election of a new President is democracy renewed. I think what’s interesting cinematically is the emergence of “Hurt Locker” – and the fact it’s received the critical recognition that it has. It’s part of the mysterious ways that popular culture absorbs and processes experiences that occur in the real world.”

That being said, very few movies – not excluding “The Hurt Locker” – have translated the issue into big box office. “It’s pointless to pretend that’s not an issue,” Greengrass admits. “In that waterfront of movies, you need some of your major pieces to engage directly with what’s really going on out here.”

Greengrass told comingsoon.net that he knew he wanted to make a war movie, albeit of a different kind. “I wanted to make a film with broad appeal,” he admits. “The whole point about the Bourne films was that when you distill a Bourne film down, what is it? Obviously, it’s a conspiracy action thriller, which is a genre everybody loves… That’s the zeitgeist, it feels very contemporary. But a conspiracy action thriller that’s about distilled high octane paranoia doesn’t become wildly popular for no reason. It becomes wildly popular because it’s reflecting what’s out there in the real world, the turbulence of the real world. It’s being distilled in a way and through a genre that people can go “Great, that feels like it.” It’s fun and hugely entertaining and they’re not sitting and thinking about those things when they’re experiencing the movie, but that’s why it’s like anything that connects in popular culture. It connects because it’s making a connection that feels very satisfying, so then that’s when we’re going, “If we can find the story, a fictional story with broad appeal, we’re basically inviting the audience to take a step back to where it all begins.”

“Green Zone” opens in US cinemas on March 12.

“I love the Bourne franchise, and I owe it a great deal, and I gave my all on the two films that I made” Greengrass admitted at the press junket for his and Damon’s lastest picture, “Green Zone”, “but when I was honest with myself last autumn, and I was starting to get going on other things, you just come to a point where you realise you’ve done it. You don’t have anything more to contribute to a franchise that needs to continue, obviously, and in order to continue, a franchise needs to be rebooted and reenergised by new perspectives. I just felt that I’d done it, and there’s nothing unnatural about that… In the end, contrary to reports, there was never any argument with the studio of any kind at all. I did spend some time thinking that I might and getting myself to a place of “what would it be?” and it’s only when you do that where you find “You know what? I’m gone. I’m onto other things.” I explained (that) to them. We had a very nice discussion – they were completely understanding – and I said “We’ll make some other movies.” And they said “Excellent”.”

The new adaptation of the novel by Charles Portis, is to be directed by the Coen Brothers, and they and Paramount Pictures appear to be keen to get rolling on the project as soon as possible. Josh Brolin, who worked with the Coen’s on the critically acclaimed “No Country For Old Men”, has also been approached, as has another Coen veteran, Jeff Bridges, still beloved by stoners everywhere for his iconic turn as “The Dude” in their1998 cult noir comedy “The Big Lebowski”.

The role Damon is up for is believed to be that of a Texas Ranger tracking an outlaw with the aid of a crusty US Marshal (originally played by John Wayne), with a fourteen year old girl, whose father was murdered by the man they are looking for.

Brolin is believed to be in the frame for the role of the doomed father, with Bridges presumably eyeing the Wayne role. Damon’s most recent appearances in cinemas was in the Steven Soderbergh ‘dramedy’ “The Informant”, with “Invictus” from director Clint Eastwood, set to be released in December. Brolin, who played the equally doomed Llewellyn Moss in “No Country”, is currently shooting “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps” for director Oliver Stone. Production on the Coen Brothers’ remake of “True Grit” is hoped to begin in the spring of next year.

Speaking to EMPIRE magazine’s Damon Wise, Damon says there is considerable pressure to do another one from the studio. “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because even if we made a horrible movie, it would make money, and they know that. There’s a huge amount of pressure. But it’s not like somebody’s hammering at our door. It’s just that they would love to make another Bourne movie, and I understand why. It’s so hard to have a sure thing in Hollywood, and this is as close as you can get. So, from an executive’s standpoint, I get it… It’s just that our job, on the creative side, is to make sure we create something that’s of a standard. And this one’s really tricky; you can’t see the guy saying “I don’t remember” anymore, because he’s lost and regained his memory three times already! And he’s not like Bond, who goes on individual missions. I mean, you could make Bond movies forever, because you’d start each film at the beginning of a new mission… But Bourne isn’t built that way unfortunately. I mean, the studio would love that, they’d say “Well, why don’t you build him that way?”… but what, is he gonna go back and work for the government now? That doesn’t make any sense. So it’s a tricky one, trying to figure out a way, organically, to have a fourth story. But we want to do it… Maybe, if we can figure out a good story!”