Sounds Like The Bourne Franchise Could Return To Theaters

Matt Damon in 2016's Jason Bourne
(Image credit: (Universal))

The Bourne franchise has faced more blows in recent years as Matt Damon has started to move away from the property. USA Network cancelled the spinoff series Treadstone shortly after the late 2019 show aired its first season. The last two entries on the big screen haven’t captured viewers the same way the original trilogy did. However, it sounds like the franchise isn't dead in the water yet.

Producer Frank Marshall has been a key player in the Bourne franchise from the beginning, and he offered this update on where Universal may take the title in the near future:

I do like the Bourne series, and I do think that’s an opportunity for different filmmakers to come in now. So, I’m hoping that we can find a new story for Bourne and a new filmmaker. We are looking.

Although it doesn’t sound like another Bourne movie is blazing through development at the studio right now, Frank Marshall told Collider there is something in the works. Following writer/director Paul Greengrass’ longtime contributions to the franchise (including 2016’s Jason Bourne, which brought back Matt Damon), the producer is looking for fresh blood to bring their own vision to the famed action franchise.

Back in 2019, Treadstone executive producer Ben Smith said the studio was ”definitely working on another film” that would be “concurrent” with the television show. Following the show’s cancellation at USA Network, it’s unlikely the same plans are underway. The show attempted to touch on the origins of Treadstone, but amid NBCUniversal’s programming shifts toward a strategy relying heavily on unscripted shows, that story is now over.

The question is if the Bourne franchise will pick back up without Matt Damon and if can succeed presumably without the actor? When Jeremy Renner took on the leading role in 2012’s The Bourne Legacy, it pulled the worst numbers for a Bourne sequel: $276 million globally against a budget of $125 million.

When Matt Damon was reattached to the role in 2016, Jason Bourne’s numbers were comparable to the highly-successful The Bourne Ultimatum with $416 million in worldwide earnings. And yet, it faced the worst reviews of the series. CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, calling it “forced and unnecessary.”

Frank Marshall has also been a producer on every Indiana Jones movie, including the fifth movie James Mangold is directing. Marshall called the recent shift “all the right pieces coming together” after Steven Spielberg exited from helming the film. Marshall also recently spoke to his involvement in the Jurassic World trilogy too, calling the end of 2021’s Jurassic World: Dominion the “start of a new era.”

What do you think about another Bourne movie coming to theaters in the future? Are you excited to see another filmmaker take on the material? Vote in the poll below.

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Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.