With the success of Bourne franchise Universal are looking to expand that cinematic universe based on novels by Robert Ludlum with the help of Dwayne Johnson.
When done correctly  Cinematic universes are wonderful vehicles for film studios helping them expand those already established universes delivering more depth. Universal are already rebooting their ‘Universal Horror’ brand with The Mummy, Wolf-Man films already in the pipeline. According to THR next in line will be another Robert Ludlum set of novels starting with The Janson Directive with Johnson as their leading man.
“The Janson Directive is classic Robert Ludlum,” Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter. “Sharp, edgy and layered storylines. The character is complex, conflicted, bad ass and lethal — I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this and bring him to life. Between Jamie, Akiva, Captivate and Universal, it’s an exciting time to help produce and build out this awesome Ludlum universe.”
The report says Johnson will play ex-Navy Seal Paul Janson with The Parsifal Mosaic, The Sigma Protocol, and Covert One also been lined up for big screen adaptation. The project has apparently been in the works since 2011 with Johnson been linked to the project since 2014. Now Mythology Entertainment, Bourne producers Captivate Entertainment (who own the rights to the books) are onboard with the help of Johnson.
James Vanderbilt is onboard to write and produce the film based on scripts created by Akiva Goldsman (busy working on new Transformers movie franchise).The Janson Directive tells the story of a former operative who is now a world-famous security consultant.His life is thrown upside down after the rescue mission goes horribly wrong. With Janson been held responsible and charged with the death of the person he was attempting to rescue.
At this stage there is no official word if Johnson will make appearances in other films especially the world Jason Bourne is in. It would be a interesting prospect of Bourne and Janson side by side or in each others faces but The Bourne Legacy has proven expansions in established franchises don’t always work. If anything they may try to establish Janson first before crossing over or just tease the character with a Marvel film type cameo. But do fans really want a crossover?
With 27 novels for Universal Pictures to play with it’s surprising they have taken so long to get this potential franchise to the big screen.
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