It’s been a good chunk of time since we’ve seen a “Jason Bourne” installment and a report from Deadline mentions that Universal Pictures is gearing up to develop a new installment with a fifth untitled movie. Not just that, but they’re currently in negotiations with filmmaker Edward Berger, who recently got on everyone’s radar after his acclaimed Oscar-winning film “All Quiet On The Western Front” made quite the splash and earned a statue for Best International Feature Film earlier this year at the Academy Awards. If a deal is reached, Berger would be tasked to both develop and direct the action film.

The main covet about the next installment is that Universal hasn’t secured franchise star Matt Damon and his participation would hinge on a “great script and story.” Worth remembering the Jeremy Renner-led spinoff film “Bourne Legacy” didn’t reignite the property and the studio would eventually pivot back to Damon for the 2016 installment. I would assume the studio has already learned its lesson trying to replace Damon/Bourne and will likely wait until the star accepts the creative vision before agreeing to a return.

Bourne is a CIA assassin who is dealing with amnesia alongside a cat-and-mouse game with his former handlers looking to terminate him before disastrous secret government programs used to eliminate American enemies can be made public. The films were adapted from the popular Robert Ludlum books and the first installment was helmed by Doug Liman.

Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander (“Tomb Raider”) was a new addition to the franchise in the 2016 film and likely would be offered the chance to return as Heather Lee. The character was the head of the CIA Cyber Ops Division.

Given that this is so early in the development process, we shouldn’t expect that filming on this sixth installment will happen anytime soon.

SOURCE: DEADLINE