The Jason Bourne film series depicts Jason Bourne, an assassin with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who experiences dissociative amnesia, making him forget who he is and his past as an operative, resulting in him going on the run from the government. Matt Damon played the franchise’s titular character in all but one of the movies, which featured Jeremy Renner taking over the reins as Aaron Cross, a Department of Defense (DOD) operative who goes on the run because of Jason Bourne. Although there are five films in the series, the chronological order of all the projects is very straightforward, making them easy to binge-watch.
The action thriller franchise began in 2002 when Universal Pictures adapted the first book of Robert Ludlum’s Bourne trilogy series with The Bourne Identity, and the rest is history. The first movie was a massive triumph and paved the way for four more films that all reached varying degrees of success. As of the writing of this article, the future of the franchise is unclear, but there have been rumblings of a sixth Bourne film, but it has been more than seven years since the last installment. Only time will tell if the series stops at five or if Damon reprises his role as Jason Bourne in a future project.
Jason Bourne Movies In Order Of Release Date
As mentioned above, the world of Jason Bourne (at least, Matt Damon’s interpretation of the iconic character) began in the early 2000s with The Bourne Identity, which was based on the novel of the same name by Robert Ludlum. Universal Pictures quickly churned out two more movies inspired by Ludlum’s other two books in his Bourne trilogy before the series took a five-year break. When the franchise returned, Damon was not involved, and neither was the second and third films’ director — Paul Greengrass. However, Damon and Greengrass came back for the fifth movie to give his character closure (but leave the door open for more stories, of course).
The Jason Bourne film series’ release date order is:
- The Bourne Identity — June 14, 2002
- The Bourne Supremacy — July 23, 2004
- The Bourne Ultimatum — August 3, 2007
- The Bourne Legacy — August 10, 2012
- Jason Bourne — July 29, 2016
Jason Bourne Movies In Chronological Order Of Events
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Box Office: $214 million | Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes
Cast: Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, Franka Potente as Marie Kreutz, Chris Cooper as Alexander Conklin, Clive Owen as The Professor, Brian Cox as Ward Abbott, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Nykwana Wombosi, Gabriel Mann as Danny Zorn, Julia Stiles as Nicolette “Nicky” Parsons, Orso Maria Guerrini as Giancarlo, Tim Dutton as Eamon, Nicky Naude as Castel, Russell Levy as Manheim, and Vincent Franklin as Rawlins.
The movie that started it all, The Bourne Identity premiered on June 14, 2002, and was directed by Doug Liman and written by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron. The action thriller film began with fishermen discovering Jason Bourne floating in the Mediterranean Sea with gunshots in his back. Bourne had no recollection of who he was or who shot him, but he later learned his name when clues led him to a safe deposit box in Zurich with his passport inside. However, once Operation Treadstone, a CIA black ops program, got word about his reappearance, Bourne had to go on the run as they tried to track him down and kill him.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Box Office: $290.6 million | Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Cast: Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, Joan Allen as Pamela Landy, Brian Cox as Ward Abbott, Franka Potente as Marie Helena Kreutz, Julia Stiles as Nicolette “Nicky” Parsons, Karl Urban as Kirill, Karel Roden as Yuri Gretkov, Gabriel Mann as Danny Zorn, Marton Csokas as Jarda, Tomas Arana as Martin Marshall, Tom Gallop as Tom Cronin, Michelle Monaghan as Kim, and Oksana Akinshina as Irena Neski.
Damon reprised his role as Jason Bourne in the 2004 sequel, The Bourne Supremacy, directed by Paul Greengrass and written by Tony Gilroy. The second film picked up almost two years following the events of The Bourne Identity and began with Bourne living in Goa, India, still with amnesia and still on the run from the government. However, chaos reentered his life when the former CIA assassin was framed for the murder of a CIA operative. Kirill, a member of the Russian secret service, was behind the scheme and faced off against Bourne in the sequel. Along the way, Bourne uncovered more conspiracy within the CIA.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Box Office: $444.1 million | Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Cast: Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, Julia Stiles as Nicolette “Nicky” Parsons, David Strathairn as Noah Vosen, Scott Glenn as Ezra Kramer, Paddy Considine as Simon Ross, Édgar Ramírez as Paz, Albert Finney as Dr. Albert Hirsch, Joan Allen as Pamela Landy, Daniel Brühl as Martin Kreutz, Tom Gallop as Tom Cronin, and Corey Johnson as Ray Wills.
The final film inspired by Robert Ludlum’s Bourne trilogy was The Bourne Ultimatum, directed by Paul Greengrass and written by Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, and George Nolfi. The Bourne Ultimatum took place six weeks after the events of the second movie and featured Operation Blackbriar (an upgraded version of Operation Treadstone) targeting Jason Bourne, who was still in search of his true identity. As was always the case, Bourne went on the run again, but this time, he sought the truth and to end Operation Treadstone’s exploits once and for all.
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Box Office: $276.1 million | Runtime: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Cast: Jeremy Renner as PFC Kenneth James Kitsom/Aaron Cross, Rachel Weisz as Dr. Marta Shearing, Edward Norton as Colonel Eric Byer, Stacy Keach as Mark Turso, Dennis Boutsikaris as Terrence Ward, Oscar Isaac as Number Three, Joan Allen as Pamela Landy, Albert Finney as Dr. Albert Hirsch, David Strathairn as Noah Vosen, Scott Glenn as CIA Director Ezra Kramer, Donna Murphy as Dita Mandy, Michael Chernus as Arthur Ingram, Corey Stoll as Zev Vendel, Željko Ivanek as Dr. Donald Foite, Shane Jacobson as Mackie, Elizabeth Marvel as Dr. Connie Dowd, and Corey Johnson as Ray Wills.
The first and only film without Matt Damon as Jason Bourne was The Bourne Legacy, directed by Tony Gilroy and written by Tony Gilroy and Dan Gilroy. The fourth film, which also took place six weeks following the events of The Bourne Supremacy, introduced a new character — Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner. Cross was part of Operation Outcome, a United States Department of Defense black ops program that created enhanced operatives via pills. Bourne’s actions in The Bourne Ultimatum resulted in the closure of Outcome, meaning that Cross was expendable, so he fought for his life throughout the movie.
Jason Bourne (2016)
Box Office: $415.5 million | Runtime: 2 hours, 3 minutes
Cast: Matt Damon as David Webb/Jason Bourne, Tommy Lee Jones as Robert Dewey, Alicia Vikander as Heather Lee, Vincent Cassel as The Asset, Julia Stiles as Nicolette “Nicky” Parsons, Riz Ahmed as Aaron Kalloor, Ato Essandoh as Craig Jeffers, Scott Shepherd as Edwin Russell, Bill Camp as Malcolm Smith, Vinzenz Kiefer as Christian Dassault, Stephen Kunken as Baumen, and Gregg Henry as Richard Webb.
The final (as of now) film of the Jason Bourne franchise featured the return of Matt Damon as the titular character, and the last time viewers saw him, he was going into hiding after exposing Blackbriar. Jason Bourne, directed by Paul Greengrass and written by Greengrass and Christopher Rouse, revolved around Bourne finally learning more about his past while a new CIA director hunted him down.
