Bourne 5: Child 44 star Vincent Cassel to play villain opposite Matt Damon in sequel

French actor Vincent Cassel has been confirmed to be playing the villain in the upcoming action-thriller sequel, Bourne 5. The Black Swan star will be acting alongside Matt Damon in the currently untitled project, who will reprise his role as the titular character Jason Bourne.

Details of the plot remain under wraps but it is known that Damon is not the only familiar face returning to the franchise. Julia Stiles, who starred as heroine Nicky Parsons – the only other character other than Bourne seen in all three original movies – is also said to be coming back to the series. The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'s Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones are the new faces to feature in the fifth instalment. Lord Of The Rings star Viggo Mortensen is also rumoured to be joining the film.

Despite not much being known about the storyline, sources suggest Cassel will be playing an assassin tracking Bourne. The 48-year-old joins a long line of acclaimed actors who have portrayed villains across the Bourne series, including Edgar Ramirez, Karl Urban, Clive Owen and Edward Norton.

Cassel, whose more recent films include Child 44 and Trance, will next be seen in Partisan, a drama about a young boy who rebels against his father after he becomes tired of the conditioning he is enduring to become a hitman.

Paul Greengrass, who directed both 2004's The Bourne Supremacy and 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, is set to helm the forthcoming project, after Tony Gilroy's spin-off The Bourne Legacy starring Jeremy Renner as the lead failed to impress critics and equally, do as well as the previous trilogy at the box office. The original three films are said to have brought in nearly $1bn (£654m) worldwide.

Greengrass penned the script to the upcoming movie, alongside Christopher Rouse, while the director is also on producing duties alongside Frank Marshall, Michael J Malone, Greg Goodman and Damon. The highly anticipated follow-up is expected to begin shooting later this year, with the idea that it will reach UK cinemas in July 2016.