The trailers for “The Bourne Legacy” suggest an expansion of the world introduced in the Matt Damon-starring “Bourne” trilogy. There’s a lot of talk about Damon’s character, Jason Bourne, and the promise of familiar faces explaining more about the mysterious government programs the first three films tease.

Forget all that. “The Bourne Legacy” basically amounts to a slick franchise reboot, and any mention of Jason Bourne proves to be a fleeting distraction.

Jeremy Renner is coldly effective as Aaron Cross, another superspy bred out of a secretive program similar to that of Bourne.  We first meet him trekking through the snowy woods and fighting off wolves like he’s Liam Neeson. We don’t know what he’s doing or where he’s going, but he really needs a new supply of blue and green pills. These pills are what “The Bourne Legacy” is really about.

Cut to New York, where grumpy Edward Norton monitors the “Bourne situation” (cutting to brief glimpses of events from “The Bourne Ultimatum”), leading to a complete shutdown of related superspy programs. Long story short, it means Aaron Cross must die, and so does the pretty doctor (Rachel Weisz) who manufactures his blue and green pills.

Directed by Tony Gilroy, a writer on the previous films, “Bourne Legacy” spends a lot of time convincing itself and the audience that Jason Bourne matters. To the story of Aaron Cross, however, he really doesn’t. Most of the movie follows the arc of “The Bourne Identity,” with a clueless superspy outrunning dangerous adversaries.

Token appearances by “Bourne” regulars Joan Allen, Albert Finney and David Strathairn don’t help. They appear in brief scenes that only set up a possible sequel that allows Matt Damon to fight alongside Renner.

The action set pieces are decent enough, and Gilroy doesn’t bother much with the manic shaky-cam that defined Paul Greengrass’ “Bourne” entries.

“Legacy” would have been better off ditching the references to previous films and focusing more on the traditional action elements that defined the franchise in the first place.

“Bourne Legacy” exists to keep the franchise afloat in case Damon can be convinced to return. At least Renner leaves a large enough imprint that an eventual team-up would be something worth hyping.

Grade: B-