WME is shopping the rights to the spy franchise and the rest of the Robert Ludlum library on behalf of the late author’s estate.

The goal is to find a new home for the franchise and make the superspy a more regular presence onscreen. Bourne last appeared nearly a decade ago in Jason Bourne (2016), from Universal and producer Captivate Entertainment, which manages the film rights for the Ludlum estate. It is too early to say if longtime star Matt Damon would be involved in the new iteration.



Skydance, Apple and Netflix are said to have met with the estate for the rights. Universal, too, could potentially win the rights back if it made an attractive bid.

Jason Bourne sprung from the mind of novelist Ludlum, who published The Bourne Identity in 1980. Two decades later, star Damon and director Doug Liman introduced him to the big screen with 2002’s The Bourne Identity. The film, coming a few years before Daniel Craig’s grounded reinvention of James Bond with Casino Royale, ushered in a new era of spy movies that favored realism rather than high-tech gadgets.