#Bourne Franchise Director Paul Greengrass Is Unsure If He’ll Return for Future Movies

Although the franchise has receded into the background in recent years, it would be difficult to overstate the impact that the Bourne Identity franchise under Universal Studios has had on the action movie genre in the past two decades. A huge chunk of the credit for the films goes to its directors, chief among whom is Paul Greengrass, who directed three movies in the franchise. In an interview with The Playlist, Greengrass admitted he is not sure if he will be returning to the series in the future.

“[The topic of making more Jason Bourne movies] hasn’t come up recently, so I actually don’t know what [the studio’s] plans are. I’m sure they’ll make more “Bourne” movies, I hope so. I don’t know whether I’ll be involved, but I’ve done my stint really, haven’t I? Let’s be honest. But I love a “Bourne” movie, and I love the actor, and I wish them well, you know. The truth of it. I’d be first in line, that’s for sure.”

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When The Bourne Identity, directed by Doug Liman, first debuted in 2002, it was as far removed from traditional action movies as possible. According to lead actor Matt Damon, that was exactly why he agreed to do the movie since he had little interest in playing the traditional Hollywood macho man action hero.

Instead of larger-than-life action set pieces, the Bourne Identity franchise focussed on treating its central story of an amnesiac assassin as an action-drama. The use of shaky cam allowed for audiences to feel they were right there in the middle of the action, and the technique has been aped to death by Hollywood ever since.

After Liman left the franchise, Paul Greengrass was brought on in his stead by the studio to helm The Bourne Ultimatum, and The Bourne Supremacy. After that, both Damon and Greengrass decided they had done all they could with the character of Jason Bourne, and left the franchise. Universal tried to continue the series with the spinoff movie starring Jeremy Renner, The Bourne Legacy.

The film did not do as well as expected, and in 2016, Damon and Greengrass returned to the franchise once again with Jason Bourne. While the popularity of the original trilogy helped make the new film a success at the box office, many critics felt the movie was largely unnecessary and did not add anything to the mythology of the main character.

While Greengrass seems to have moved on from the Bourne franchise, series producer Frank Marshall has previously hinted that he is not yet done with the world of Jason Bourne, and is eager to see what a new filmmaker can do with that particular cinematic universe.

“I do like the Bourne series, and I do think that’s an opportunity for different filmmakers to come in now. So, I’m hoping that we can find a new story for Bourne and a new filmmaker. We are looking.”

This news comes from The Playlist.

Topics: Bourne, Bourne 6