Paul Greengrass may be hopping from one franchise to another — at least that’s the goal for Paramount as they’re officially negotiating with the Bourne director to helm a new film based on the life of Elliot Ness. If successful, the studio hopes to launch their next big franchise, and while a government agent famous for taking down Al Capone and leading the most prolific Prohibition task force is certainly an unconventional choice, it might prove to be a very smart one, too.
Just last week author Mark Harris announced his latest project on twitter: a Netflix docuseries based on his book about Hollywood and World War II. Today Netflix has officially announced the project with the first trailer for a series cinephiles and history buffs will want to clear their calendars for.
When you think of the ‘Bourne’ trilogy, one thing comes to mind: action. And not just any kind of action, but frantic, dizzying, jagged, or for those sitting to close to the movie theater screen, headache-inducing action.
The Jason Bourne franchise has always operated as a sort of response to the James Bond series. Right as Bond hit one of his lowest and silliest depths in Die Another Day in 2002, The Bourne Identity arrived on the scene as a sort of corrective; serious, dark, morally tortured. The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum followed, and so did 007, whose Casino Royale and especially Quantum of Solace aped the style and tone of Bourne.
Jason Bourne has always had one mission: to find out who he is. It’s a mystery that made him one of the most enthralling action movie characters. He didn’t have the suave, ostentatiousness of James Bond, nor did he rely on teamwork or gadgets like Ethan Hunt; he was quick, efficient and acted on intuition and impulse alone, and all without having a clue what his real name was. He was a human killing machine who wouldn’t stop until he uncovered the truth, and by the end of Paul Greengrass’ 2007 ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’, Matt Damon’s spy finally got answers. But nearly 10 years later, Bourne still has questions.