Critically speaking,Jason Bourne, the latest in theBourneseries from directorPaul GreengrassandMatt Damon, wasn’t a big success. But in Hollywood, money talks and the movie definitely made money, so there is absolutely potential for a sequel. According to producerFrank Marshall, if they can manage to crack a story worth telling, a sequel toJason Bourneis very much in the cards.
Speaking withYahoo Movies,Frank Marshallseemed very optimistic about the possibility of a sequel toJason Bourne. He has had conversations with bothMatt DamonandPaul Greengrass, who were both happy with the results of this latest movie. So as long as a story worth telling comes along, it should be a go. Here is what he had to say.
“I have spoken to them both. Obviously they’re very pleased with how the movie turned out. It’s really about the story, just like on this one, everyone said ‘if you come to us with a good story, we’ll think about it.’ So right now, we’re taking a pause and then we’re going to dive back in and try to find a story. We did leave it wide open at the end of the movie to continue on in Bourne’s world so we’ll see what we can come up with.”
TheBourne franchisewas in a pretty rough spot before this fifth installment.The Bourne Ultimatumcame out nearly a decade ago, andThe Bourne Legacyspinoff withJeremy Rennerstarring as Aaron Cross didn’t succeed on any level. It was the second lowest-grossing entry in the franchise and wasn’t generally well-liked by fans or critics. Universal had originally expected that maybe aBourne Legacysequel could happen, butFrank Marshalldoesn’t feel that is very likely. Here is what he said about it in his chat with Yahoo.
““Probably not. I don’t know. That story is still out there as well but it’s not… we’re not talking about it.”
Jason Bourne, despite not garnering the critical acclaim that earlier installments of the franchise did, managed to gross $415 million worldwide. That makes it the second highest-grossing in theBournefranchise to date, behindThe Bourne Ultimatum, which made $442 million back in 2007. The difference being thatThe Bourne Ultimatumwas received much better upon arrival. The movie currently holds a 93 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 91 percent audience score.Jason Bourne, on the other hand, has a measly 56 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 59 percent audience score. At the very least, this latest movie was more divisive among fans of the franchise.
In any case, it doesn’t sound likeBourne 6will be happening anytime soon. AsFrank Marshallpoints out, they have only had very preliminary conversations about it and haven’t even cracked a story. But, the door was left wide open at the end ofJason Bournefor a return. Universal will likely be patient about it, because havingMatt DamonandPaul Greengrasstogether seems to be the winning combination forBourne, at least as far as box office is concerned. So even though it probably will happen, we may have to wait a while before seeing a sequel toJason Bourne.
