Universal green lights another Bourne-less Bourne

With Matt Damon seemingly still against a return to the Bourne franchise, Universal Pictures has decided to push ahead with a fifth instalment in the spy series, with Deadline revealing that the studio has hired Anthony Peckham (Sherlock Holmes) to pen a second outing for Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross, star of last year's spin-off The Bourne Legacy.

Directed by Tony Gilroy (screenwriter of the first three movies), The Bourne Legacy took place at the same time as The Bourne Ultimatum and shifted the focus from Robert Ludlum's amnesic assassin to the newly-created character of Aaron Cross, a genetically enhanced black ops agent forced to go on the run after Jason Bourne's whistle-blowing activities.

Although it didn't match the critical acclaim of previous instalments, The Bourne Legacy pulled in a decent enough$276 million at the box-office, and with Universal viewing the series as one of its most important franchises alongside the likes of The Fast and the Furious, Jurassic Park and The Mummy, it really comes as little surprise to see them pushing forward with a fifth... but isn't it time they started thinking about reworking the title?