The age of connected cinematic universes is officially upon us. With almost every major studio in Hollywood now on board it seems this new trend is here to stay. Universal has recently confirmed it has another connected cinematic universe to be produced alongside the much anticipated remakes of their black-and-white horror classics starting with The Mummy starring Tom Cruise. But this new cinematic universe will expand upon the thrilling world of Jason Bourne.
For those that may not know, the Bourne films are based on the best-selling novels of the late Robert Ludlam and the celebrated author didn’t stop with just one espionage thriller, he has a plethora of different stories that would welcome an introduction to the big screen. The first of which will be from the character Paul Jansen and we already have a cast member in place, Dwayne Johnson. You may have heard of him. Fresh off the set of Paramount’s Baywatch which recently wrapped shooting and jumping right into Sony’s Jumanji, The Rock took to twitter after The Hollywood Reporter’s initial announcement to say;
Pumped to play this character and help Universal produce and build out this bad ass universe. #TheJansonDirective
So it seems the star will aid in producing, but he certainly won’t be alone. The creative team Universal have partnered with includes screenwriter James Vanderbilt; Brad Fischer and William Sherak from Mythology Entertainment and Ben Smith and Jefferey Weiner from Captivate Entertainment. Vanderbilt is writing The Janson Directive from a story co-authored but Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman- who you may recall is overseeing Hasbro’s cinematic universe as well as Tranformers’.
As of yet not a great deal is known about how the universe will connect. It could be as simple as overaching themes and/or villainous organisations or we could see the formation of an illusive espionage team consisting of Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, Dwayne Johnson’s Paul Janson and maybe even Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross for good measure.
It certainly seems Universal have put the project in capable hands as Vanderbilt is clearly a fan;
“I’ve been obsessed with Robert Ludlum ever since I was a kid, and the opportunity to play in this sandbox and create an interconnected universe based on the works of one of the best espionage writers of all time is a dream come true,”
Jason Bourne is scheduled for a July 29th release and no date for The Janson Directive has been announced as of yet, but you can expect a slate to be released in due course.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
