Amazon MGM Studios now owns the beloved James Bond franchise, and a big spy franchise is also looking for new ownership.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, WME is looking for a new owner for the Jason Bourne franchise. WME and Robert Ludlum's estate is searching for a company that can purchase the rights to Robert Ludlum's library, which includes the Bourne franchise. THR reported that Universal could buy back the rights, but Ludlum's estate has talked to Netflix, Apple, and Skydance.
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The most recent Bourne movie was Jason Bourne, which was released in 2016. The film also featured the long-time character Nicolette "Nicky" Parsons (Julia Stiles). Adapted from Ludlum's novel series, the franchise is centered around Matt Damon's character Jason Bourne, who has amnesia and was a CIA spy. After The Bourne Identity was released in 2002, The Bourne Supremacy came out two years later in 2004, followed by The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007. The Bourne Legacy arrived in theaters in 2012, followed by Jason Bourne four years later. Damon didn't star in The Bourne Legacy and, instead, Jeremy Renner played an agent named Aaron Cross. Fans of Netflix spy shows such as The Recruit and The Night Agent have likely enjoyed the Jason Bourne movies as well.
Amazon has said they won't be changing James Bond much, and the Bourne franchise fans can also likely rest assured that the tone of the movies will remain the same. THR reported that it is unclear if Damon will come back as Jason Bourne. It's hard to imagine another actor taking on this role. The character seems to be very special to Damon. In 2016, when he was promoting Jason Bourne, he told BBC.com that he worked out a lot and ate a rigid diet in order to train for the role. He also said there were almost ten years between 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum and 2016's Jason Bourne because they wanted to ensure there was a good story to tell. He said:
"It's been one of those things that we wanted to do for a long time because we love the character... It's a tough thing to earn an audience's trust and so we didn't just rush into it, we waited for 10 years or so and got a good story, and hopefully we've done something that people will want to see."
The Bourne franchise has done incredibly well at the box office, and there's no reason not to expect a new movie to do the same. According to Box Office Mojo, the first movie, The Bourne Identity, grossed $121,661,683 and the most recent film, Jason Bourne, grossed $162,434,410.
In the years since Jason Bourne was released in 2016, Damon has made some compelling career moves. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 2021 historical drama The Last Duel and also appeared in the movie as Jean DE Carrouges. He also played Leslie Groves in the 2023 hit Oppenheimer and voiced Sunny in the 2024 animated film IF. It's unclear where the Bourne franchise will land next and what the next movie would be about, but fans definitely hope Damon will reprise his popular character and be back for another spy adventure.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter