Bourne (franchise)

All three of Ludlum's novels were adapted for the screen, featuring Matt Damon as the title character in each. Doug Liman directed The Bourne Identity (2002) and Paul Greengrass directed The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), and Jason Bourne (2016). Tony Gilroy wrote or co-wrote each film except for Jason Bourne and directed The Bourne Legacy (2012).


Damon chose not to return for the fourth film, The Bourne Legacy, which introduces a new main character, Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), a Department of Defense operative who runs for his life because of Bourne's actions in Ultimatum. The character of Jason Bourne does not appear in Legacy, but mention of his name and pictures of Damon as Bourne are shown throughout the film.^[6] Damon returned for the fifth installment, Jason Bourne, an original story not based on the books.


The Bourne series has received generally positive critical reception and grossed over US$1.6 billion. Notoriously, the franchise is also famous for establishing post-9/11 gritty realism tone, heavy use of shaky cam cinematography and frenetic editing techniques (abetted by Greengrass' style) in modern filmmaking, most of which influenced action films around the late 2000s to the early 2010s.^[7][8][9]

Production[edit]

Director Doug Liman stated that he had been a fan of The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum since he read it in high school. Near the end of production of Liman's previous film Swingers, Liman decided to develop a film adaptation of the novel. After more than two years of securing rights to the book from Warner Brothers and a further year of screenplay development with screenwriter Tony Gilroy, the film went through two years of production.^[20] Liman approached a wide range of actors for the role of Bourne, including Russell Crowe and Sylvester Stallone, before he eventually cast Matt Damon. Liman found that Damon understood and appreciated that, though The Bourne Identity would have its share of action, the focus was primarily on character and plot.^[21] Production was difficult, with screenplay rewrites occurring throughout the entire filming and Liman constantly arguing with Universal's executives.^[22] The Bourne Identity was released in June 2002.


Universal confirmed at a media conference in Los Angeles, California, that they have plans to release more Bourne films, despite Legacy being given mixed reviews by critics.^[23] In a December 2012 interview, Matt Damon revealed that he and Paul Greengrass are interested in returning for the next film.^[24] On November 8, 2013, Deadline reported that the fifth installment in the franchise will feature Renner's Cross, with Justin Lin directing.^[25] Andrew Baldwin was attached for the film's screenplay writing. On September 15, 2014, it was announced that Damon and Greengrass will indeed return for the next Bourne film, taking the release date, with Renner returning as Cross in a separate film, at a later date.^[26] In November 2014, Damon confirmed that he and Greengrass would return^[27] with a script from themselves and film editor Christopher Rouse.^[28] On May 23, 2015, Deadline reported that Alicia Vikander is in talks to star with Damon in the fifth film.^[29] In June 2015, Variety reported that Stiles will reprise her role as Nicky Parsons and Viggo Mortensen is in talks to appear in the film as an assassin who's tracking down Bourne. Deadline reported that Vikander is confirmed to appear in the film.^[30][31] On July 28, 2015, Tommy Lee Jones was cast in a role in the fifth film.^[32] On September 1, 2015, Variety reported that French actor Vincent Cassel is cast as the film's villain.^[33]


Producer Frank Marshall confirmed principal photography for the new film had commenced on September 8, 2015.^[34] The film itself was released in the UK on July 27, 2016^[35] and in the U.S. on July 29, 2016.^[36]


The films have been noted for their "well placed", "understated" and "tastefully done" product placement of a "diverse" range of brands, which in the case of the third film, earned the producers tens of millions of dollars.^[37][38] The Bourne Identity features brands such as The Guardian newspaper, BT Tower in London and Tag Heuer watches.^[37] The Bourne Supremacy features mobile phones made by Sony Ericsson.^[39] The Bourne Ultimatum features a total of 54 brands including The Guardian and BT for the second time;^[40][41] mobile phones made by Motorola, Nokia and Carphone Warehouse, most prominently the RAZR 2 and SLVR, as Motorola was a major sponsor and had a movie tie-in customized phone;^[39][41] cars made by BMW, Ford, Mercedes, and Volkswagen, most prominently the Volkswagen Touareg 2, as Volkswagen provided $25 million in funding;^[40][41][42] and technology products such as CTX computer monitors, Norton AntiVirus and the Google web search engine.^[41]