Image via Eon
In 2002, Pierce Brosnan starred in his final James Bond movie, Die Another Day. That same year, Matt Damon changed the spy genre forever with his starring role in the action thriller The Bourne Identity.
23 years later, The Bourney Identity remains popular with audiences, as FlixPatrol is reporting that the movie has landed in AMC+’s Top 10 chart in the United States, coming in at No. 6, under Nautilus, Clown in a Cornfield, Monster Island, The Walking Dead: Dead City, and John Wick. Based on Robert Ludlum’s 1980 novel of the same name, The Bourne Identity was a grounded spy thriller about its amnesiac title character, played by Damon, who is forced to fight to unlock his identity and his mysterious connection to the CIA. Not only was the movie a major box office hit, earning $214 million worldwide off a $60 million budget, but it also heavily influenced Eon’s next James Bond movie, Casino Royale, which rebooted the franchise with a younger, more inexperienced 007, played by Daniel Craig.
Doug Liman, who directed The Bourne Identity, has addressed the 2002 movie’s influence on Casino Royale, telling SlashFilm in 2021, «I always wanted to make a James Bond movie, but they don’t hire American directors. […] I went and made Bourne Identity, and then after The Bourne Identity came out, the next James Bond to come out was Casino Royale, which totally copied the tone of Bourne. I had a very surreal thing where I was sort of making Bourne because I really wanted to make Bond, and then Bond copied Bourne.»
Bourne Became a Major Franchise for Universal
Image via Universal
The Bourne Identity was followed by two direct sequels — The Bourne Supremacy in 2004 and The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007. Liman did not return as director, with Paul Greengrass succeeding him in the director’s chair. Damon reprised his role as Jason Bourne in both movies, with Julia Stiles, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Gabriel Mann, and Chris Cooper also returning. Following Ultimatum, Universal took the franchise in a different direction with the 2012 spinoff The Bourne Legacy, which introduced Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross as the new series lead.
Unfortunately, Legacy received mixed reviews from critics and was a financial disappointment, resulting in Universal bringing back Greengrass and Damon for the next installment, 2016’s Jason Bourne, which served as a direct sequel to Ultimatum. Despite a mixed critical reception, Jason Bourne was a commercial success, leading the studio to begin development on a sixth movie.
However, Bourne 6 stalled in development and was almost scrapped for good earlier this year when Universal lost the rights to the franchise. Luckily for fans, the studio recently reacquired all rights, excluding publishing, to the Jason Bourne and Treadstone franchises in perpetuity. The new deal, believed to be in the nine-figure range, means that Universal can restart development on Bourne 6, which is expected to bring back Damon in the title role and be directed by Edward Berger.
The original Bourne trilogy is currently available to stream on AMC+.
