New Jason Bourne Movie Coming From All Quiet On The Western Front Director
Jesus Christ, that's Jason Bourne ... again.
In a bit of breaking news from Deadline, it looks like Edward Berger, the Academy Award-winning director of "All Quiet On The Western Front" will be following up his World War I anti-war film by helming the next installment of one of the biggest American action franchises of all time. According to Deadline's sources, Universal Pictures is looking to revisit the "Bourne" franchise, with Berger following in the footsteps of directors Doug Liman, Paul Greengrass, and Tony Gilroy. The film is said to still be in early development, Berger is still in negotiations, and a script has yet to be written, and Universal did not provide a comment to confirm any of the information. As it stands, Berger would be the only attachment to the project at the time of deal-making.
Considering we at /Film recently ranked the "Jason Bourne" films from best to worst, we are unofficially taking credit for the announcement of this new film because there was no way the universe was going to let us have a definitive ranking. We will of course be updating the existing list following the release of the new title, whenever that may be. Considering how long action movies take to make, I predict that we'll see you in 2025 on that update at the very earliest.
Berger joining the "Bourne" series is an exciting endeavor, but there's one question on the minds of every fan — will Matt Damon return to play Jason Bourne?
What we know about the possible return of Matt Damon
Matt Damon played Jason Bourne in four of the five films and has become somewhat synonymous with the franchise (no shade, Jeremy Renner). According to Deadline's sources, "As always, everything has to be executed perfectly for Damon to even consider coming back to the franchise and that starts with a great script and story and so as of right now no commitment from him until all of that is in place." His last appearance as the character was in 2016's "Jason Bourne," when Damon was in his mid-40s. That isn't to say that he can't still pull off a "Bourne" performance in his 50s, but it could change the way the character is presented in the story.
Personally, I am all about a "Bourne" movie where he's dragged back into the biz after taking a few years off to restart his life as David Webb, only to be sucked right back in. I greatly enjoyed "The Equalizer 3" with a grizzled Denzel Washington's Robert McCall killing one last time so he can finally retire in peace, and I'll certainly love the same with a 50-something Jason Bourne. Then again, if Damon elects not to return, there's no telling where this story will go. Here's hoping he has already been contacted and isn't finding out about this new film from the trades.
This story is developing.