Bourne 6 Director Drops Disappointing Update: That Is a Very High Hurdle To Jump Over

4 days ago 3

Bourne 6 is taking longer than expected to come together, and the director, Edward Berger, has shared a few reasons why. About a year ago, word got out that a new Jason Bourne movie had gone into early development with Berger tapped to helm and craft a new direction for the beloved spy franchise. Things have since been quiet on the project, and now the first update has emerged, but it's a disappointing one as Bourne 6 looks to be stuck in development with no immediate plans to rescue it.

Director, Berger recently sat down for a chat with Cinema Daily US where he was asked about how much progress has been made on the sequel and his response was pretty candid. The All Quiet on the Western Front director shared that he's been busy with other projects that occupy a bulk of his time extending into next summer. However, he further explained that placing the Bourne film on the back burner was not deliberate but because he has yet to finalize the perfect idea good enough to surpass or at least match the success of the previous installments. While he didn't share whether he's abandoning the project, Berger said that he would only proceed with the sixth film if he could come up with a novel vision. He said:

"Well, I mean, it’s really not clear whether... I'm not doing it right now . And I really don’t know what I will do in the future. There's a bunch of options, and I have to bring out this movie [Conclave] to the theater quickly. I have to finish [The Ballad of a Small Player], which takes me until next summer, so anything that goes beyond is kind of beyond my comprehension. But, Bourne is a wonderful franchise, and if there ever were, but I don't have it, but if there ever were an element that hasn't been told yet, and a good reason to bring it back, and for me to have the feeling I can make the movie as good as Paul Greengrass did, because he did great, great films. And that is a very high hurdle to jump over, you know?"

Will Matt Damon Feature In 'Bourne 6'?

Along with the development news last year came whispers that production was planning to approach Matt Damon for negotiations about reprising his role as the titular CIA assassin. With no script in place as yet, that move is yet to happen. However, Berger also addressed Damon's potential involvement, adding that the chances of winning his interest will likely be dependent on the quality of the story saying:

"You really need a new agenda of bringing that back, otherwise there's really no reason. You can only bring it back if you have something new to tell, something new to add . That would probably also be Matt Damon's only reason to come back. He's not going to need money. He's not going to need to make this . If he can have an inner journey... if an actor finds that to play, then that's a wonderful challenge, and if you can't find it, then better not make a movie like that."

While Berger is yet to take on a venture as big as Jason Bourne, the director has proven with his World War I hit, All Quiet on the Western Front his capabilities to infuse newness into a familiar story. Hopefully, he can eventually get the hang of this new challenge and set the ball rolling on Bourne 6.

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.