Dwayne Johnson to Star in Robert Ludlum's 'The Janson Directive'?

Here's one you may have forgotten about. Three years ago Universal picked up the rights to The Janson Directive, another espionage thriller about secret agents from Robert Ludlum, the author of the Jason Bourne books. And then, well, nothing happened on it but it appears the studio is now looking at some big name (and big muscled) talent to lead it.

According to Variety, Dwayne Johnson is being eyed for the film which centers on ex-Navy Seal Paul Janson, who finds himself the target of an extermination directive (hence the title) after a mission goes sour. John Hlavin wrote the first draft of the script back when Universal acquired it but that's out the window and new screenwriters will take a shot at it.

Johnson is said to be on board for the gig, too, and it's obvious why. Universal has done a bang-up job with their Bourne franchise and this would give Johnson a serious tentpole to call his own. The studio gets the most bankable actor in Hollywood and some leverage in case Jeremy Renner's next Bourne film doesn't improve.

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'House of Flying Daggers' Director Zhang Yimou to Helm Spy Thriller 'The Parsifal Mosaic'

When Universal picked up the rights to the library of novels by The Bourne Identity author, Robert Ludlum, there was some minor talk of using some of them to help build the next Bourne movie. That didn't end up happening, and The Bourne Legacy proceeded ahead to continue the franchise. But Universal is still moving forward with a Ludlum adaptation, and they've got House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou to direct it.

According to THR, Yimou will make his English language debut and first major studio effort by directing The Parsifal Mosaic. Yimou previously helmed The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale, martial arts flick Hero with Jet Li, and also directed A Simple Noodle Story which was a Chinese remake of the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple. Basically he has touched on a number of different genres and it will be interesting to see how he handles the world of international espionage.

Produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer with David Self providing the screenplay, The Parsifal Mosaic centers on Michael Havelock, a U.S. intelligence officer who witnesses the murder of his KGB double-agent girlfriend by his own agency. Years after quitting the spy game he discovers his girlfriend alive in Rome, and sets off to find her and the truth, drawing the attention of U.S. and Russian assassins.

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Next Bourne to be a Prequel?

The mystery behind plans for a fourth installment of the Jason Bourne series has been as murky as the shadowy operatives' past. While speaking with Empire Online, series star Matt Damon was asked specifically about the project. What he had to say is surprising indeed...

“There’ll probably be a prequel of some kind with another actor and another director before we do another one,” he said, “just because I think we’re probably another five years away from doing it – we’ve got to get a script…”

Ok, Damon's a smart dude, and I believe that he chooses his words very carefully. He's not going to just throw something out there only to have to retract it later. The way he phrases this statement, to me, indicates that he expects to do another Bourne with director Paul Greengrass in a few years. Greengrass recently left the project to pursue other opportunities that had been on the backburner, such as his Bourne-esque spy thriller, Green Zone.

What caught my eye is this idea of a prequel with another director and actor. What would be the point? How young are we talking here? It's not as if Matt Damon is ancient. He can still pass for a man in his 20s if need be, so what would this entail? A teenaged Bourne? Bad idea. I can't believe this will happen. I expect we'll get one or the other. Either Greengrass and Damon return for a 4th film, or we get nothing at all. Or Damon relents on his promise to not work on another film without Greengrass and accepts another high profile director to helm the project. Maybe Doug Liman comes back on board? It's all just speculation at this point, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Personally, I'm kinda hoping they just back off from doing anymore Bournes. It's already such a perfect, mature spy trilogy that I don't want to see it fouled up. The problems this fourth film is already facing are unlike anything the previous three films experienced.

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Jason Bourne....No More??

Famed director Paul Greengrass(United 93, Bloody Sunday) has reportedly quit the upcoming 4th installment of the Jason Bourne franchise. Greengrass, who has directed the last two Bourne films, and in my opinion elevated them to legendary status, indicated there was no ill will between him and Universal Studios, but that he merely wants to do other things. Greengrass's next film is the Bourne-esque Iraq War thriller, Green Zone.

The 4th Bourne film, likely to be titled The Bourne Legacy, has faced a myriad of problems since it was announced. Legacy is based on the 4th book in the series, the first not written by Bourne creator, Robert Ludlum. Matt Damon is not currently attatched to the film, although Julia Stiles and Joan Allen have been approached to reprise their roles. The script was initially written by previous Bourne screenwriter, George Nolfi, but he left to do other projects. So another script was commissioned by yet another writer, so two scripts exist and neither has been greenlit so far.

There exists the possibility that all of these problems, including Damon's less than enthusiastic interest for the project as of now, could lead to the franchise's end. But I don't think that's likely. Universal would explore every other possibility before that happens, including rebooting the franchise with a new actor in the lead role the way so many other studios have done lately. So don't count on this being the end of the line for the superspy just yet.

Variety has more on the story here.

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