Bourne 5

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New 'Bourne' Chapter In Works At Universal For Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross Character
BY MIKE FLEMING JR | Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures is getting the wheels moving on a fifth installment of The Bourne Identity franchise. I've heard that studio has hired Anthony Peckham to script a film that is designed to continue the storyline of Aaron Cross, the character that Jeremy Renner played in the 2012 Tony Gilroy-directed Bourne Legacy. Cross was among a group of agents who took part in Operation Outcome. Medically enhanced to be smarter and physically superior, the agents were targeted for termination. Renner starred with Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton. Frank Marshall and Captivate Entertainment's Ben Smith and Jeffrey Weiner are producing the new one.

This is all early days, but the studio wants to continue to build the spinoff character and storyline hatched by Tony Gilroy, who was so important in establishing Matt Damon's Jason Bourne character in those early films from the books by the late Robert Ludlum. It doesn't sound like they've made headway with Damon about a reprise (he has said he won't do it without Paul Greengrass, and doesn't know where the character goes after regaining the memory loss that came back by the end of the third film). Universal, which has a seventh installment of all time top grossing The Fast And The Furious in the works as well as new installments of The Mummy and Jurassic Park, counts Bourne as one its most important franchises. The Bourne Legacy grossed $276 million worldwide.

Peckham's recent scripting credits include Sherlock Holmes and Invictus, as well as Yucatan for Team Downey, Twilight Zone, and Deep Sea Cowboys. The scribe is repped by WME and Anonymous.

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'Fast & Furious' Helmer Justin Lin To Direct Next 'Bourne' Installment
BY MIKE FLEMING JR | Deadline
   
EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures has tapped the director of one of the studio's most lucrative and successful franchises to take on the fifth installment of The Bourne Identity franchise. Justin Lin will direct the sequel to the Tony Gilroy-directed The Bourne Legacy, the pic that kicked off storyline of Aaron Cross, the character played by Jeremy Renner. Renner is set to return as Cross in a story hatched by 'Invictus' and 'Sherlock Holmes' scribe Anthony Peckham. Frank Marshall and Captivate Entertainment's Ben Smith and Jeffrey Weiner are also back as producers, and Lin also will produce through his Perfect Storm banner. I'm hearing a summer 2015 release is being eyed for this one, though the studio is saying it doesn't know when it will open. Universal chairman Donna Langley, co-president of production Peter Cramer, and VP Production Anikah McLaren will oversee the project for the studio. Bourne Legacy, released in 2012, grossed $276 million worldwide.

Lin has plenty of fans at Universal, where he came aboard a flagging Fast & Furious franchise and put it back on the fast track: the last three installments have grossed $1B collectively. He was key to making it probably the studio's most valuable franchise — especially overseas and among younger fans. Universal has a seventh installment in the works as well as new installments of The Mummy and Jurassic Park.

Lin is repped by CAA, Cinetic Media and Sloss Eckhouse Law Co.

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Universal Reuniting Matt Damon & Paul Greengrass For Another Jason Bourne Film
by Mike Fleming Jr; Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Jason Bourne is coming back. Universal Pictures has begun making deals with Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass to reunite for their third film in The Bourne Identity series, sources tell me. This is an absolute stunner — and Universal would not comment nor would the reps — because Greengrass told Deadline as recently as last year that once Bourne regained his memory, there was no place else for the character to go creatively. His search formed the spine for the trilogy Damon starred in.

Well, they've figured it out. I'm told that the studio is so bullish on this that the intention is to make the reteam the next Bourne film to go into production to make the July 16, 2016, release slot that Universal had previously assigned to an untitled Bourne film. That means it would step in front of the spinoff sequel that is to reprise Jeremy Renner and be directed by Fast & Furious architect Justin Lin. That film, which began with the Tony Gilroy-directed The Bourne Legacy, remains in development. I thought its premise— Renner plays one of several genetically altered assassins, all of whom are targeted for death — was smart and satisfying on its own. Universal intends to continue that series and to broaden its franchise base, much the way that Marvel cranks out superhero films. The Bourne Legacy was a good start to a new franchise, but Jason Bourne is a hard act to follow. Now, franchise-hungry Universal has both of them. Lin can probably use the time, as he signed on to direct the second season of the HBO series True Detective.