Back in October of last year, the world was a very different place. First, there was no COVID-19, and if you wanted to go watch a movie, you could buy a ticket and head to your local multiplex without worry. And there was a new ‘Bourne’ spin-off series on USA Network, titled “Treadstone,” that was expected to revive the franchise and set it up for future films. Oh, what a difference seven months makes.
Now, the world is dealing with a global pandemic, the film industry seems to be falling apart, and that ‘Bourne’ series? Canceled after only one season. Alas, while the planet figures out how to rid itself of COVID-19, producer Frank Marshall, who has worked on the ‘Bourne’ franchise in the past, is now talking with Collider about the future of the Matt Damon-led film series and thinks it’s ripe for the taking.
“I do like the ‘Bourne’ series, and I do think that’s an opportunity for different filmmakers to come in now,” said Marshall. “So, I’m hoping that we can find a new story for ‘Bourne’ and a new filmmaker. We are looking.”
As mentioned, last October, another ‘Bourne’ producer talked about the future of the film franchise and said that work was being done on a new film, which would somehow tie into the “Treadstone” series and continue the story. But now that “Treadstone” is no more, and word of a ‘Bourne’ sequel/reboot has been quiet, Marshall is here to tell us that the spy franchise is still alive and well and on the hunt for a new director to shepherd it into its next phase.
Previously, Doug Liman kicked off the franchise with “The Bourne Identity,” which starred Matt Damon as the title character who “wakes up” to basically find that he’s a badass spy with a mysterious past. The story continued on with Paul Greengrass at the helm with the two, well-received sequels. The franchise took a left turn with Tony Gilroy’s “The Bourne Legacy,” which failed to kickstart a spin-off film series with Jeremy Renner in the lead. Finally, the most recent film, “Jason Bourne,” starred Damon once again and brought back Greengrass.
So, there has been no shortage of quality filmmakers that have tackled ‘Bourne’ in the past. It’ll be interesting to see where the franchise goes in the future and who is there to lead the way.
