Cast and crew of the newest chapter of the Bourne franchise, "The Bourne Legacy" came out for its world premiere at New York's Ziegfeld Theater on Monday (Tuesday in PHL).

 

The hugely successful espionage franchise has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office and followed the story of Jason Bourne, a former CIA agent suffering amnesia. "Legacy" however introduces a new star in the form of Aaron Cross portrayed by Jeremy Renner.

 

Renner explained that starring in a spin-off of a successful series has its advantages.

 

"How tremendous they performed in those last three movies that set the bar for like pace and tone and ferocity of actions. So it actually helped, gave you an idea of what it was going to feel like and the outcome was going to be like. So it gave me a running start really more than anything than added pressure," the 41-year-old actor told Reuters.

 

The movie takes place during the events of "Bourne Ultimatum," when Jason Bourne's story is revealed to the general public. Unlike Bourne who was part of CIA's Treadstone project, Cross is one of the six agents participating in a program called "Outcome," developed by the Department of Defense to genetically groom agents for isolated high-risk assignments.

 

And with shared origins as the Treadstone project anybody involved in the Outcome project is now a target of the U.S. government that is eager to terminate the entire mission, including Cross.

 

Starring alongside Renner is actress Rachel Weisz who portrays Dr. Marta Shearing, a research scientist at a lab responsible for the Outcome project. She said her character and Renner's have shared concerns.

 

"Basically we are similar in that neither of us know the big picture. In fact the audience don't know the big picture even the ones that have seen the first three Bourne movies," the Oscar-winning actress said.

 

"If you think you really knew who was in charge you're wrong, you didn't know. And this film lifts the curtain on the last three films and we see what was really going on in a way both Jeremy (Renner) and myself are pawns of the government but we get thrown together and neither of us can live without the other," she added.

 

While it can be viewed as a stand-alone movie, "Legacy" director Tony Gilroy, who also was the narrative architect behind the original series, said that it is a real treat for die-hard fans.

 

"It preserves and enriches what you've seen before and there's a lot there for people who are super freaks, fans who are deep fans of the franchise," he said.

 

One of the revelations in the film is the mastermind behind the projects, the inventor of both "Outcome" and "Treadstone" who has silently watched over the projects for the past 12 years. This person is retired colonel Eric Byer portrayed by veteran actor Edward Norton.

 

"I thought he (Byer) really wasn't the villain he was kind of a morally ambiguous character so I liked him, he's complex," Norton said about his role in the movie.

 

"There's not that many real heroes and villains. I think most people are complicated," he added.

 

Not everybody is new in "Legacy" -- franchise veterans Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn reprise their respective roles. — Reuters