$1.6 Billion Action Franchise Switching Main Characters Failed So Bad, The Original Star Returned
Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release.
He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years.
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It's not always easy for a popular movie franchise to switch main characters, as one action movie series can attest. While audiences initially latch onto an IP thanks to specific leads, Hollywood's plans for the titles often go beyond what an individual actor or character can withstand. That's why we've watched everything from Star Wars to Jurassic and Harry Potter change main characters over the years.
In some cases, these go over quite well. Star Wars successfully transitioned from following Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker to Daisy Ridley's Rey. Jurassic moved past Sam Neill's Alan Grant for Chris Pratt's Owen Grady, only for Scarlett Johansson's Zora Bennett to take over going forward. Even Rocky got new life by turning the franchise over to Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed.
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However, there are plenty of cautionary tales. Harry Potter saw declining interest after making Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander the protagonist. Mad Max struggled to get audiences in theaters to watch Anya Taylor-Joy's Furiosa take center stage. Ballerina failed to position Ana de Armas' Eve Maccaro as John Wick's new lead, even with Keanu Reeves' involvement.
The Bourne franchise is another that made plans to switch main characters by moving on from Matt Damon's Jason Bourne after a successful first trilogy. Not only did the replacement plan fail, but it went so poorly that Universal eventually had no other choice but to bring him back to keep the IP alive.
Why Matt Damon's Jason Bourne Didn't Return For Bourne 4
Damon was front and center for Universal's first three Bourne movies: 2002's The Bourne Identity, 2004's The Bourne Supremacy, and 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum. He turned Treadstone's special agent who lost his memory and then turned on the agency into a globally recognized action hero. The original trilogy grossed nearly $1 billion, making Universal eager to keep it going.
Just over one year after The Bourne Ultimatum was released, the studio had a fourth Bourne movie in development. Universal brought back Ultimatum's co-writer George Nolfi to write the script, with Damon expected to come back. He even expressed interest in Bourne 4 at first, but then his tune changed, saying he'd only do it if Paul Greengrass was directing again.
That complicated the development on Bourne 4, as Greengrass elected to forgo returning to the action franchise to pursue other projects. Without Greengrass, Universal had no luck getting Damon back. Rather than waiting on them, the studio scrapped this version of Bourne 4 and recruited franchise co-writer Tony Gilroy to find a new path forward.
This led Gilroy to create Bourne's new main character, Aaron Cross, and direct the franchise's first Jason Bourne-free installment: The Bourne Legacy. Jeremy Renner was cast to play Aaron Cross, and the movie hit theaters in 2012 with the hope of starting a new era for the action series.
The Bourne Legacy Failed To Make Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross The Franchise Lead
Unfortunately for Jeremy Renner, The Bourne Legacy wasn't able to deliver on that potential. The actor proved to be a great fit for the Bourne franchise, as he effortlessly handled the action and dramatic elements. Aaron Cross is even a pretty solid character, with his realization that Treadstone cannot be trusted spurring him to gain his freedom and do better.
The issue Bourne encountered with its main character switch was a drop in audience interest. The Bourne Legacy only made $276 million worldwide, the lowest for the franchise outside the original. Audiences communicated with their wallets that they prefer Damon's Bourne to be at the center. The $150+ million dip at the box office from Damon's last installment, plus mixed reviews, left Universal uncertain about how to move forward.
The studio put a Bourne Legacy sequel into development a year later, with Gilroy co-writing the script with Antony Peckham. Shortly thereafter, Universal tapped Fast & Furious' Justin Lin to direct the movie. The studio even gave Bourne Legacy's sequel an August 2015 release date, which then got delayed to July 2016 before being delayed indefinitely. A decade later, it still hasn't come to pass.
Matt Damon's Jason Bourne Has Reclaimed His Spot As Bourne's Main Character
Beyond The Bourne Legacy's lukewarm reception, the franchise didn't keep expanding this story due to Damon returning for more. He and Greengrass found a story they wanted to tell in 2014, lead Universal to put Bourne 5, eventually titled Jason Bourne, on its calendar for July 2016.
Even though the fifth film was not as well received as the original trilogy, Jason Bourne solidified that the franchise belongs to Damon. The movie made $416 million worldwide, the second-highest total for the series (not adjusted for inflation). The great financial performance left Universal to only consider making additional movies if Damon's spy would be the main character.
High Octane · No Brakes How Well Do You Know Action Movies? “Yippee-ki-yay… let’s see what you’ve got.”
💥ExplosionsWalk away, don’t look back
🏎Car ChasesFloor it
🥊Fist FightsNo mercy
🚁StuntsGet to the chopper
🔥MayhemBurn it all down
01
In the 1988 classic Die Hard, NYPD cop John McClane spends Christmas Eve picking off Hans Gruber’s heavily armed crew one by one inside a single Los Angeles high-rise. What is the name of that skyscraper?
✓ Direct hit! Nakatomi Plaza — the headquarters of the fictional Nakatomi Corporation where McClane (Bruce Willis) is trapped. It was filmed in the real Fox Plaza in Century City, which was still under construction at the time. McClane’s barefoot dash across broken glass remains one of the genre’s defining moments.
✗ Missed! The answer is Nakatomi Plaza. The film was shot in the real Fox Plaza in Century City (then Fox’s own HQ), which is likely why “Fox Tower” sounds plausible — but on screen it’s the fictional Nakatomi Plaza where Hans Gruber’s crew holds the Christmas party hostage.
02
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) introduced the shape-shifting T-1000, a groundbreaking villain that could melt, reform, and morph into anyone. What futuristic material is the T-1000 made of?
✓ Direct hit! The T-1000 is made of “mimetic poly-alloy” — essentially liquid metal — letting it flow through bars, sprout blades, and impersonate its victims. Robert Patrick’s eerily calm performance and the era-defining morphing CGI made it cinema’s scariest robot. The T-800 (Arnold), by contrast, is metal under living tissue.
✗ Missed! The answer is liquid metal (“mimetic poly-alloy”). That’s what lets the T-1000 pour through prison bars, reform from a shattered frozen state, and mimic anyone it touches. The older T-800 played by Arnold is the one with a hard metal endoskeleton under flesh — the T-1000 is a whole new threat.
03
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) was a near-non-stop desert car chase praised for its practical stunts, winning six Oscars. Which director returned to the franchise he created decades earlier to make it?
✓ Direct hit! George Miller created Mad Max with Mel Gibson back in 1979 and returned 36 years later to direct Fury Road, with Tom Hardy as Max and Charlize Theron as Furiosa. The film leaned on real vehicles and stunts in the Namibian desert. Snyder, Villeneuve, and Bigelow are all acclaimed — but the Wasteland belongs to Miller.
✗ Missed! The answer is George Miller — the Australian filmmaker (and former doctor) who launched the series in 1979 and came back to direct Fury Road. Zack Snyder, Denis Villeneuve, and Kathryn Bigelow are all major action/sci-fi directors, but none made Mad Max.
04
In John Wick (2014), Keanu Reeves plays a retired hitman pulled back into a brutal underworld war after Russian gangsters break into his home. What act ignites his legendary rampage of revenge?
✓ Direct hit! They kill his dog — a beagle puppy named Daisy, a final gift from his late wife — and steal his vintage Mustang. That cruelty unleashes “Baba Yaga,” the boogeyman hitman, on the entire criminal underworld. The deceptively simple revenge hook launched one of modern action’s biggest franchises.
✗ Missed! The answer is they kill his dog. The puppy, Daisy, was the last gift from John’s dying wife — so when Iosef’s crew beats John and kills the dog (also stealing his car), it triggers the full “Baba Yaga” rampage. It’s the purest revenge setup in modern action cinema.
05
The Mission: Impossible franchise is famous for its star performing his own death-defying stunts — scaling the Burj Khalifa, clinging to a plane at takeoff, and a HALO jump. Who plays super-spy Ethan Hunt?
✓ Direct hit! Tom Cruise has played Ethan Hunt since 1996, famously insisting on doing his own stunts — hanging off the Burj Khalifa, strapped to an Airbus A400M, and performing a real HALO skydive. Matt Damon is Jason Bourne, Keanu is John Wick, and Statham headlines the Transporter and Expendables films.
✗ Missed! The answer is Tom Cruise. Matt Damon plays a different super-spy (Jason Bourne), Keanu Reeves is John Wick, and Jason Statham has his own action stable. Cruise’s real, no-CGI stunt work — the plane, the building, the skydive — is the M:I series’ signature.
06
In The Matrix (1999), Morpheus offers Neo a choice between two pills: one returns him to blissful ignorance, the other reveals the harsh truth of reality. Which pill does Neo swallow to wake up?
✓ Direct hit! Neo takes the red pill to learn the truth — that humanity is enslaved in a simulation by machines. The blue pill would have let him wake up in bed believing “whatever you want to believe.” “Taking the red pill” has since become a permanent piece of pop-culture shorthand.
✗ Missed! The answer is the red pill. Morpheus’ line is the key: the blue pill ends the story safely in bed, but the red pill shows “how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Neo chooses red, unplugs from the Matrix, and the phrase has outlived the film as a cultural metaphor.
07
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000) won Best Picture and gave us the roaring line “Are you not entertained?!” Which actor took home the Best Actor Oscar for playing the betrayed general-turned-gladiator Maximus?
✓ Direct hit! Russell Crowe won the 2001 Best Actor Oscar as Maximus Decimus Meridius, the Roman general enslaved and forced to fight for his freedom — and his revenge on the emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Gerard Butler later anchored 300, but the sands of the Colosseum belong to Crowe.
✗ Missed! The answer is Russell Crowe, who won Best Actor for Maximus. Gerard Butler led the similar-spirited 300, Mel Gibson made Braveheart, and Brad Pitt fought at Troy — all sword-and-sandal adjacent, but Gladiator’s Maximus is Crowe.
08
The Fast & Furious saga grew from a street-racing crime film into a globe-trotting blockbuster series obsessed with “family.” Vin Diesel anchors it as the gravel-voiced crew leader — what is the character’s name?
✓ Direct hit! Vin Diesel plays Dominic “Dom” Toretto, the loyalty-obsessed leader whose mantra is family. Brian O’Conner was the late Paul Walker’s undercover-cop-turned-ally, Luke Hobbs is Dwayne Johnson’s lawman, and Han Lue (Sung Kang) is the snack-loving fan favorite. But the wheel belongs to Dom.
✗ Missed! The answer is Dominic Toretto. Brian O’Conner is Paul Walker’s character, Luke Hobbs is Dwayne Johnson’s, and Han Lue is Sung Kang’s. Vin Diesel’s Dom — and his relentless “family” speeches — has been the heart of the franchise since 2001.
Mission Complete · Stand Down Your Action Hero Rank
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One-man army — or first to get caught in the crossfire?
This has led them to actively develop Bourne 6 with Damon in recent years. The movie does not currently have a release date or a firm date to start filming. What Bourne 6 does have is a director in All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave's Edward Berger.
Details on Bourne 6's story remain under wraps, as do any cast members. Rumors have swirled that the film could involve Jason Bourne attempting to pass the baton to a new female character to be the franchise's main character. Whether that comes to pass or the movie actually happens in the aftermath of Damon's career year with The Odyssey remains to be seen.
Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross Could Still Return To Bourne
This leaves Aaron Cross with no clear future in the Bourne franchise. Franchise producer Frank Marshall said a decade ago that The Bourne Legacy was unlikely to ever get a sequel, and that can certainly be ruled out after all this time and Damon's return. But that doesn't mean there's no room for Renner's character.
The one way he could come back at this point would be as part of a franchise crossover, one that unites Bourne and Cross on-screen, either as allies or enemies (or both at different points in the story). Renner is no stranger to ensemble crossover movies thanks to his time in the MCU, and it would be quite fun to see him and Damon square off at this stage.
For this to happen, it would likely require Damon pushing for it. Universal is in no rush to remind audiences about The Bourne Legacy, even if it is much better than its reputation. Even if Damon and Renner aren't up for a Bourne versus Cross fight at this point in their careers, it would still be great to see them cross paths and for Bourne to bring the franchise's only two main characters together.
- Movie(s)
- The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bourne Legacy, Jason Bourne
- TV Show(s)
- Treadstone
- First Film
- The Bourne Identity
- Genres
- Action, Thriller, Drama
- Cast
- Matt Damon, Jeremy Renner, Franka Potente, Julia Stiles, Brian Cox, Gabriel Mann, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Rachel Weisz, Joan Allen, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Jeremy Irvine
- Character(s)
- Jason Bourne, Aaron Cross, Marie Helena Kreutz, Nicky Parsons, Ward Abbott, Danny Zorn, Alexander Conklin, The Professor, Nykwanna Wombosi, Dr. Marta Shearing, Pamela Landy, CIA Director Robert Dewey, Heather Lee, John Randolph
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