Director Tony Gilroy is looking to cast a big name as the villain in The Bourne Legacy, with Variety reporting that Edward Norton is now in negotiations to take on the role. After a lengthy casting search, the powers-that-be finally settled on Jeremy Renner take on the lead role in the Matt Damon-less reboot. Gilroy wrote the script for the film, which will take place in the same universe as the first three Bourne Identity flicks, though the character of Jason Bourne will be absent (which pretty much renders the “Bourne” in the title moot, save for franchise recognition). Rachel Weisz is also onboard to star in the film. Hit the jump for more.Though Damon and Supremacy/Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass are absent, the actor has previously stated that as long as Legacy leaves the door open for his character to come back, he would be eager to return once again with Greengrass at the helm. However, if the A-list casting is any indication, Gilroy is looking to start a franchise of his own with Legacy.It'll be interesting to see how this film shapes up. Gilroy wrote the first three Bourne flicks, and I'm a fan of his previous directorial efforts Michael Clayton and Duplicity, so he's certainly go the chops to pull it off. Though I'm curious to see how a Bourne film will turn out with bigger name actors playing the supporting parts. The previous films have very much been focused on the Bourne character, so I'm interested to see how much screentime Gilroy will be giving the villain, or if we'll be switching point-of-views frequently. Filming begins soon, with an August 3rd, 2012 release date looming overhead.