Since Frank Marshall’s latest resurrection of an action hero was so successful, he seems to be figuring it’s time to bring back another globetrotting gentleman. But unlike starting again with Indiana Jones after a 19-year hiatus, making a fourth movie about Jason Bourne is a plan that seems about foolproof. And Marshall seems to know it, talking to IESB.net on the red carpet for the Saturn Awards about the future plans for Bourne.

He says the planned release date for the movie is 2010, with pre-production hopefully beginning this fall. And, contrary to what some have speculated, the script probably won’t be based on the fourth Bourne novel. “There was a fourth book written, but it was not by Mr. Ludlum,” Marshall explains, referring, of course, to the author of the first three novels, Robert Ludlum. “So we’re probably going to take our own direction, and we’re working on where that storyline is headed right now. Even more excitingly, Marshall suggests that Bourne’s next adventure will take place where the next Bond movie also appears to be set: “I think he’s headed down South. I think he’s headed to South America.

Marshall also said that filming for the movie would begin next summer, which will give star Matt Damon plenty of time to lose the weight he’s put on for his role in Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant. While it’s a little worrisome that the fourth Bourne won’t be based on the foolproof source material it’s had for the first three times around, the producers and screenwriters surely know by now what the secret formula for their success has been. Provided Bourne doesn’t hop in a fridge to survive a nuclear blast, we’ll probably be in good shape no matter what.