It's official: the Jason Bourne saga will be back – and bigger than ever if director Paul Greengrass has anything to do with it. After the relative flop of The Bourne Legacy starring Jeremy Renner, the franchise returned with moderate success in the form of 2016's Jason Bourne, with Matt Damon back in the hot seat as the titular former agent.
Though the 2016 film wasn't a smash critical success, it brought Universal Studios $415 million globally, far surpassing the 2012 Jeremy Renner outing, which made $276 million on a budget of $125 million.
Initially, Bourne 6 promised to reunite Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass, but recent statements from Damon have thrown a shadow of doubt on his reprisal. He said: "It would have to be a pretty incredible story to get us all back on the horse. This last one didn't do as well as the one we did 10 years ago, so maybe people are done with the character."
So, it's down to the story and the public's desire to see Damon dodging bullets if we get another Bourne film with the star. It also doesn't seem likely that Renner's spy, Aaron Cross, will return since he didn't feature in the 2016 movie either.
Franchise producer Ben Smith is working on the upcoming Bourne spin-off TV series Treadstone. The series explores "both the origins of the infamous covert program, as well as connecting to present-day special ops. Treadstone follows the action across the globe from DC to Berlin to Paris and beyond. Treadstone turns its recruits around the world into nearly superhuman assassins using a secret behaviour-modification protocol, creating sleeper agents who are mysteriously 'awakening' to resume their dangerous missions."
So, what does this have to do with Bourne 6? Well, according to Smith, there will "absolutely" be a tie in between the sixth film and the TV show. "I mean we are definitely working on another film," he told CinemaBlend. "What we're doing within that? Will there be connected tissue in terms of are we all existing within the same world and universe? Absolutely. The details of that are still under wraps."
With details 'still under wraps', we have no idea if Matt Damon will actually be returning for the sixth film. The ending of the fifth certainly leaves the door open for him to reprise the role.
If you don't remember, here's what happened. Bourne has recovered from his amnesia and is competing in bare-knuckle boxing. Meanwhile, CIA operative Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) is trying her best to get Bourne back into the CIA.
A lot of fights happen, things explode, people die. By the end of it, Bourne confronts CIA director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) about having his father killed and about the Treadstone project. More fighting ensues and Lee kills Dewey before Dewey can kill Bourne.
Lee convinces Edwin Russell, the director of National Intelligence, that her methods would be better than Dewey's and that if she fails she'll have Bourne killed.
Then she meets Bourne, promising him that if he returns to the CIA things will be different. He says he needs time to think and walks away. When Lee gets into a car she finds a tape that Bourne recorded of her conversation with Russell which reveals her true intentions about murdering Bourne as she says "... then, he'll have to be put down."
In the aftermath of Jason Bourne, word about the sixth movie went quiet until the recent confirmation by Smith. Since it's not even confirmed that Damon will return to the movie, it's highly unlikely there will be a direct crossover between the show and film, but who knows?
No release date has been set, let alone cast and a trailer, but keep your eye on this space for details as they come out.
Digital Spy is launching a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Gabriella Geisinger
Gabriella Geisinger is a freelance journalist and film critic, and was previously Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy. She loves Star Wars, coming-of-age stories, thrillers, and true crime. A born and raised New Yorker, she also loves coffee and the colour black, obviously.
