Matt Damon Turning Down $773M Franchise Explained 14 Years Later

Published Nov 8, 2026, 12:41 PM EST Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones, and also writes some features and reviews. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025. Matt Damon explains why he turned down the franchise that went on to gross $773 million. Despite starring in many popular films, including 2026's critical and commercial hit The Odyssey, Damon famously turned down the roles of Jake Sully in Avatar and Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight, although James Cameron clarified last year that the star was considered, but never offered the role of the protagonist in the science-fiction film. In an interview with GQ, Damon was asked if he ever wished he had taken a role that he passed on. While the actor emphasized that he doesn't like to live with regret, he spoke about how he overthought and talked himself out of playing the role of John Bennett in Seth McFarlane's Ted, whose script he thought was hilarious. Since the movie was filmed in Boston, it would have given Damon six more months to spend at home and with his father, Kent Damon, who passed away at the age of 74 in 2017. In terms of just the film, though, The Odyssey star believes that he wouldn't have made it any better and that Mark Wahlberg was the right choice for the part. Check out his comments below: I never like to say that, because I don’t want to live with the regret, but I can tell you that I passed on Ted, and I’ve never had this experience where I laughed so hard reading a script. I literally took it to dinner and was reading parts of it out to my friends at dinner. And then I just got too clever by half. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was like, Well, maybe the teddy bear’s actually the best part.… So I overthought it and I talked myself out of it. And because it shot in Boston, it would’ve been a chance for me to be home—my father’s passed away now, and I look back and I go, Man, that would’ve been six months back [home]. But, again, the right actor got the part. Mark [Wahlberg’s] great, and the movie’s great, and I wouldn’t have made it any better. Wahlberg not only plays John in 2012's Ted, but also the 2015 sequel Ted 2, and voices him in the upcoming Ted: The Animated Series, which premieres on Peacock on December 17. A younger version of John is portrayed by Max Burkholder in Peacock's live-action Ted series, which ran for two seasons, while McFarlane voices him in all the movies and shows. Per The Numbers, Ted grossed $556 million worldwide, and Ted 2 followed up with $217 million, leading to a franchise total of $773 million at the box office across just two theatrical installments. While Damon could have been part of this success if he hadn't talked himself out of playing John, he has plenty of his own box office hits since 2012, including the Christopher Nolan movies Interstellar ($642 million), Oppenheimer ($986 million), and The Odyssey ($1.8 billion). He also returned to the Bourne franchise with 2016's Jason Bourne ($416 million) and followed up Interstellar with another sci-fi hit in The Martian ($653 million), which is directed by Ridley Scott and adapted from Andy Weir's novel of the same name. Rearrange the movies into the correct US release order. Beyond the box office, The Martian, Oppenheimer, and The Odyssey have received extensive acclaim from both critics and audiences. Damon received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Martian and Oppenheimer won in seven different categories, one of which was Best Picture. For The Odyssey, Damon is the frontrunner for Best Actor at the 2027 Oscars. He won Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting, but this would be his first time winning in an acting category. In terms of upcoming projects for Matt Damon, he is starring in an untitled movie directed by Everything Everywhere All at Once's Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, better known as the Daniels, and reprising the role of Linus Caldwell in Ocean's 14. A sixth Jason Bourne film is also in development. Birthdate October 8, 1970 Birthplace Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Notable Projects The Martian, The Bourne Identity Height 5 feet 10 inches Professions Actor, Film Producer, Screenwriter