A sixth film in the Jason Bourne franchise is on the way with “All Quiet On The Western Front” director Edward Berger in negotiations to develop and direct the project for Universal Pictures reports Deadline.
The studio has begun early development on the next installment in the series so there is no script at this time. It would mark Berger’s first project since ‘Quiet’ took an Oscar for Best International Feature Film earlier this year.
If a deal closes, Berger would be the only attachment at this time as no other talent is on board. Matt Damon, who starred as the Jason Bourne character in four of the five films, would be first approached to return to the role once a script is finished.
It’s reported that Damon won’t even consider coming back to the franchise unless there’s a strong script in place which means this could take some time.
The Bourne franchise has been one of Universal’s 21st century success stories. The loose adaptation of the Robert Ludlum novels began in 2002 with the Doug Liman-directed “The Bourne Identity” which was a big success, taking $214 milion from a $60 million budget and landing very positive reviews.
That continued when Paul Greengrass took over with two sequels – “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” – which were even more well-received along with being smash hits. The third took in $442 million from a $130 million budget.
Then it stumbled. The Jeremy Renner-led “The Bourne Legacy” in 2012 and Damon’s return in “Jason Bourne” in 2016 were both met with mixed reviews even as they did solid box-office.
Berger has had big success on TV in recent years helming episodes of “The Terror,” “Your Honor” and the mini-series “Patrick Melrose”. He most recently directed “Conclave” based on the novel by Robert Harris and starring Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini.
