Universal Looks To Justin Lin To Energize BOURNE Franchise

Justin Lin, the director who re-energized the Fast & Furious franchise by turning it from a series about car racing into one of high-speed international crime capers, has been signed to direct the fifth installment of Universal’s Bourne spy thriller series.

According to Deadline, the new, as-yet-untitled film will continue to follow Jeremy Renner’s character Aaron Cross, who took over the franchise from Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne character in last year’s The Bourne Legacy. Invictus and Sherlock Holmes scripter Anthony Peckham is already on board as the pen the new film. There is no official date set for the release, but Deadline is reporting that the studio is eyeing the already over-crowded summer of 2015.

Lin displayed remarkable talent at bringing new life to a franchise when he assumed control of the Fast & Furious series with its third installment Tokyo Drift. By expanding the scope of the films, and their quotient of outrageous action set pieces, Lin has turned the series into a big moneymaker for the studio. The last three installments have collectively grossed over $1 billion at the box office. Universal is obviously hoping he can work similar magic on the Bourne franchise, which many fans say stumbled with last year’s Legacy.