Jason Bourne may have regained his memory, but now he needs to find a new home. THR reports that WME are shopping around the franchise after the rights lapsed for Universal, home of five movies and one TV series since 2002.
Included in the package is the rest of Bourne novelist Robert Ludlum’s work. Skydance, Apple, and Netflix are in the mix as potential buyers, but don’t count out Universal who could get it back for the right price.
The last we heard about Bourne, a new film was being eyed with Conclave and All Quiet On the Western Front director Edward Berger. That was two years ago, and it just never seemed to get off the ground. Damon wasn’t fully on board, either, noting his age. Berger was red-hot at the time, he still is, and Universal may have reached out in desperate hopes of keeping the franchise under their umbrella. Berger is probably too busy now. Later this year he has The Ballad of a Small Player for Netflix.
Obviously, that plan failed, and Bourne becomes the second major spy franchise to switch hands in recent months. James Bond’s longtime producers at Eon gave up creative control to Amazon MGM. Could we see a new Bourne movie fill that space if Bond takes a long time to get going?
That said, Bourne may have seen its better days. The most recent film was 2016’s Jason Bourne, which earned $415M. But it was coming after the lackluster Jeremy Renner reboot The Bourne Legacy in 2012, which only made $276M. Damon has been a fixture in that role for more than two decades and it’s possible fans will be turned off by a different actor.
The Hollywood landscape is shifting and we’re seeing major IP moving to new homes. Bourne is next, and wherever it lands expect to see the superspy back in action soon.
