Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies: Jason Bourne...

Jason Charles Bourne (real name David Webb) is a fictional character in the novels of Robert Ludlum and subsequent film adaptations. He first appeared in the novel The Bourne Identity (1980). This novel was first adapted for television in 1988, and then adapted on film in 2002 under a title of the same name.

The character has been in seven sequel novels (the last four of which are written by Eric Van Lustbader with another novel due to release in 2010). Along with the first feature film, The Bourne Identity (2002), Jason Bourne also appears in two sequel movies The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Actor Matt Damon stated in November 2009 that no script had been approved (for a fourth film) and that he hoped that a film would begin shooting in mid-2011. The next month however, he said that he would not do another Bourne film without Paul Greengrass, who announced in late November that he had decided not to return as director.

In the recent films, the character of Jason Bourne, portrayed by Matt Damon, is a much simpler character than the one described in the novels. The background story omits the Vietnam War and the character of Carlos the Jackal.

In the film, Bourne was born in Nixa, Missouri. He joined the Army, eventually volunteering for Special Forces, becoming a Green Beret and attaining the rank of Captain. His dog tags identified him as being Catholic. It was here that he was offered the opportunity to volunteer for Operation Treadstone, under which he endured behavioral modification, involving sleep deprivation, repeated submerging in water, gagging and binding. His final test was to kill a man, after which he was informed that his transformation into Jason Bourne was complete. He initially refused to shoot the unknown man, but after persuasion he capitulated and killed the subject.

Bourne was highly trained in the CIA's protocols and trade crafts. His skills include expertise in hand-to-hand combat, firearms, knives, and explosives, handling numerous vehicles, and speaking fluent English, French, Russian, German, and Spanish. He may also speak Arabic, Dutch and Hungarian. Although he has never shown speaking Portuguese, he holds a Brazilian passport as Gilberto do Piento and a Portuguese passport.

Once his training was complete, Bourne was deployed as a covert assassin. He completed his missions mechanically, without knowledge of his subjects' identity or the crimes they had allegedly committed. On a job in France, he had a sudden attack of conscience when he saw his target in the company of his children. Bourne aborted his mission, and was shot in the back twice while attempting to escape. He awakens with his memory gone.

The character of Bourne in the films is a very quick-thinking, linear type of person who moves quickly and brutally towards his goal. He gives the impression of someone who has been severely traumatized and who is suffering from paranoia. He is tormented by fragment memories of his past. He is highly adept at hand-to-hand combat. He also shows an immediate ability to utilize lateral thinking to solve problems. He sometimes uses improvised weapons, for example using a pen to stab an assassin in The Bourne Identity and using a book and a towel in The Bourne Ultimatum. He is shown using tactical improvisation such as using a fan, torch light and tape to fake his location (The Bourne Ultimatum) and gas, a toaster and a magazine to cause an explosion (Bourne Supremacy). He is also proficient with firearms, explosives, electronics and evasive protocols — for moving, driving, and the like.

The Bourne franchise consists of several novels, movies, and a video game, all featuring one of the several versions of the Jason Bourne character.