The Future of Jason Bourne

The Matt Damon-led spy thriller series, based on the Robert Ludlum books, may be leaving its long-time home at Universal Pictures.

A New Home for Bourne

Universal has owned the rights to the Jason Bourne action spy franchise for decades, but this could soon change. Matt Damon has starred in four of the five existing films, starting with 2002’s The Bourne Identity. The Hollywood Reporter states that WME and the estate of Robert Ludlum have begun shopping the IP for a potential reboot at a new home. Interested parties include Skydance, Apple, and Netflix. With the current state of movie theaters and streamer tentpole duds, studios are scrambling to acquire tried and trusted IP, as seen with Amazon taking creative control of the James Bond series.

Universal’s Options

Universal could retain the Bourne rights if it chooses to outbid potential buyers. The franchise, under Universal, includes sequels The Bourne Ultimatum (2004), The Bourne Supremacy (2007), The Bourne Legacy (2012), and Jason Bourne (2016), in which Damon reprised his role. It is too early to say if Damon would be involved in the new iteration. The series has also attracted talent behind the camera, with Andor creator Tony Gilroy writing or co-writing all entries except Jason Bourne, and directing The Bourne Legacy. Other series directors have included Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass.

Expanding the Franchise

The Bourne series has also inspired a staged stunt show at Universal Studios Florida called The Bourne Stuntacular. With the studio seeing huge success in genre content, it will be interesting to see if it sticks with the spy-fi content it has mined from Bourne over the years.

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