The Correct Order To Watch The Jason Bourne Movies

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The "Bourne" franchise includes a full five movies and a TV spin-off, which can make it tough to figure out the correct viewing order. In the early 2000s, "The Bourne Identity" arrived and essentially rebooted the action movie genre with a sleek and gritty adaptation of Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. The grounded spy thriller saw Matt Damon's Jason Bourne discovering his abilities as an elite assassin while audiences rediscovered what an action hero was supposed to represent in the new millennium. A wave of "Bourne" movie imitators followed, alongside reboots of existing franchises (like James Bond and Batman) often referred to as being just as "gritty" as "The Bourne Identity."

Amid the wave of "Bourne"-inspired action moviemaking, we also got two excellent sequels to the original film with "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum." But Universal Pictures wasn't done with the property and gave us two more movies and a TV show that was canceled after 10 episodes. Between 2002 and 2016, five Bourne movies were released, and while there has since been talk of yet another Jason Bourne movie, such a thing has yet to materialize. On top of that, Universal lost the rights to the franchise in 2025, and last we heard, it's being shopped around with a view to rebooting the saga.

Still, even without a sixth movie you might be a tad confused by the timeline. Not every Jason Bourne film is created equal, so aside from the chronological confusion, there's also the issue of which movies are actually worth watching. Thankfully, the best way to watch these movies is as simple as viewing them in their production order (we'll get to the TV show later):

• "The Bourne Identity" (2002)

• "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004)

• "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007)

• "The Bourne Legacy" (2012)

• "Jason Bourne" (2016)

With all the timeline jumping and separate storylines in the Bourne franchise, it might seem as though the property doesn't necessarily lend itself to newcomers. But everything should make sense as long as you watch the movies in their production order. The first three films follow Jason Bourne in a pretty clear-cut way. It's only after that the saga branches off into the spin-off that was "The Bourne Legacy" before ultimately rejoining Jason Bourne in the 2016 film of the same name.

After the original three-film run, Universal was clearly keen to capitalize on the franchise's success and, in 2012, pushed ahead with a fourth film sans Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (who'd worked together on the previous two entries). "The Bourne Legacy" wasn't quite the hit the studio hoped for, however, and in 2016, Universal managed to get Damon and Greengrass back on board for "Jason Bourne." Sadly, the film was so bad some fans reconsidered their love of the franchise. That makes the fifth movie about as essential as the entirely unnecessary "Legacy," both of which didn't place very highly on /Film's Jason Bourne movie ranking.

It's also worth noting that there are two other Bourne-related projects that aren't included in this list: the 2019 TV show "Treadstone" and the 1988 made-for-TV movie "The Bourne Identity." The latter isn't canonical to the main Jason Bourne timeline, while the former certainly is. But the fact that you don't need to see "Treadstone" in order to enjoy or even understand the movies is perhaps a testament to how unnecessary the short-lived USA Network series was. As such, watching the five main films in production order remains the best way to relive the "Bourne" franchise.

2002's "The Bourne Identity" was the first time audiences met Matt Damon's amnesic assassin David Webb — though, in this first installment, he's known only by the name the CIA gave him: Jason Bourne. After being pulled from the ocean by the crew of an Italian fishing boat, Bourne is revealed to have been shot twice in the back and can't remember anything about his past. This propels him on a mission to uncover the story of who he is and why he seems to have combat skills so deadly they would put John Wick to shame.

As Bourne travels Europe on his odyssey, he's joined by Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente), a German woman who agrees to help Bourne after he's identified as a wanted man. Meanwhile, Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper), the head of a shady CIA black ops program called Operation Treadstone, sends three assassins after Bourne. In order to discover the truth about his background as a highly-trained agent from the Treadstone program, Bourne has to fight his way through local authorities and Conklin's henchmen. By the end, Damon's hero tracks down Conklin and learns the truth behind what led to his discovery in the ocean and warns Conklin to stop chasing him before disappearing and ultimately reuniting with Marie in Mykonos.

With its grounded and tense action, intriguing central mystery, director Doug Liman's effective use of shaky cam, and its general reinvention of the action genre, "The Bourne Identity" is not only one of the best Matt Damon movies but also one of the best spy movies of all time.

After discovering the truth about his past in "The Bourne Identity," 2004's "The Bourne Supremacy" found Matt Damon's assassin trying to live a quiet life with Marie in Goa, India, as he continues to piece together his fractured memories. But when you're a lethal government weapon gone rogue, you're never completely free from danger, and after Bourne is framed by a Russian agent for killing two CIA operatives and stealing files, he's forced to leave his quiet life behind and return to action.

Once again hunted by the CIA, Bourne embarks on another country-hopping odyssey in order to try to clear his name. He soon discovers that, prior to losing his memory, he was responsible for killing Russian politician Vladimir Neski. CIA section chief Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) was behind his framing, which he orchestrated to prompt the CIA into hunting down Bourne and killing him once and for all, thereby eliminating all evidence of Abbott's prior wrongdoing with Operation Treadstone.

Director Doug Liman was replaced by Paul Greengrass for the 2004 sequel, and the British filmmaker certainly put his stamp on the property, ratcheting up the shaky-cam action and delivering some of the franchise's finest set-pieces. The film also finds Bourne trying to overcome his past as a killer and make amends for his actions, adding an effective personal narrative into the mix that makes this entry one of the best in the movie series. It also picked up nicely from "Identity," finding Bourne living a somewhat settled life with his love from the first film (who, sadly, perishes early on, further adding to the personal stakes involved). By the end of "Supremacy," we see that Bourne is more than capable of atonement and has retained his sense of humanity despite all he's gone through. But this wasn't the last time that humanity would be tested.

In 2007, Jason Bourne returned for a third installment in the franchise with "The Bourne Ultimatum." Making a decent sequel is hard enough, but a threequel is even tougher. Thankfully, returning director Paul Greengrass and writers Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, and George Nolfi managed to deliver what many fans consider to be the best entry in the "Bourne" saga.

"Ultimatum" picks up just a few weeks after "Supremacy," finding Bourne at the center of yet another international manhunt. This time, Matt Damon's assassin is being pursued by agents from Operation Blackbriar, the successor to Treadstone. A journalist is killed after he attempts to lift the lid on Blackbriar, prompting Bourne to pick up where he left off and uncover the truth behind the CIA's new black ops enterprise, Treadstone, and ultimately his own origins as Jason Bourne. His journey sees him joining forces with former Treadstone operative Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), who fills in the gaps in Bourne's recollection of his life prior to the events of "The Bourne Identity."

As the story unfolds, Bourne manages to finally unlock the truth about himself, including the events that led to his involvement with Treadstone and the fact that his birth name was David Webb. He also manages to expose both Operation Treadstone and Blackbriar, delivering all the details to the press and finally bringing the agency's underhanded tactics to light. As such, "Ultimatum" offers a satisfying close to the original trilogy, though Bourne does manage to escape at the end (with news reports confirming his body wasn't recovered after he jumped into the East River). As such, while "Ultimatum" seemingly wrapped things up, it also very much left the door open for more Bourne action in the future — which we eventually got. But the property would take a marked turn after this excellent threequel kept up the franchise's trend of producing some of the best assassin movies ever made.

2012's "The Bourne Legacy" was where things started to go awry for the franchise. The big change here came with the departure of Matt Damon and the arrival of Jeremy Renner, who was supposed to become the new face of the property moving forward. Universal evidently felt that the Bourne universe had enough appeal to stand on its own without its former star, and so, we were given "Legacy," which starred Renner as black ops operative Aaron Cross.

Cross is a product of Operation Outcome, a CIA program that created genetically-enhanced assassins who require medication, known as "chems," to maintain their abilities. Thanks to Jason Bourne's actions in "The Bourne Ultimatum," however, all these shady CIA programs have come to light, prompting Colonel Eric Byer (Edward Norton) to order the complete shutdown of Operation Outcome. Of course, this requires Cross be eliminated, but much like Jason Bourne, Renner's super spy isn't about to go without putting up a fight. "Legacy," in turn, follows Cross as he evades termination and tries to track down more chems to keep himself in peak condition.

"Legacy" isn't a direct sequel nor a prequel to the previous trilogy, with parts of the movie taking place at the same time as "Ultimatum." It's also the first of the "Bourne" films not to be based on a Robert Ludlum novel, instead telling an original story. Director Tony Gilroy (who had contributed his screenwriting talents to the first three films) did an admirable job shooting "Legacy," but that couldn't save the movie from being the uniquely forgettable entry it was. As such, it's not exactly required viewing in order to understand the main "Bourne" timeline — although, if you're interested in Universal's attempt at world-building and why it ultimately failed, there's lots to like about "The Bourne Legacy."

After "The Bourne Legacy" failed to cement the "Bourne" films as a bonafide franchise outside of Matt Damon's contributions, the saga and its original star returned for 2016's "Jason Bourne." Lamentably, this movie proved to be even worse than its fine-but-forgettable predecessor, with /Film's Jacob Hall noting in his "Jason Bourne" review that everything just felt tired. Damon once again played the amnesiac CIA assassin, only this time, he managed to stay out of trouble for a full decade.

What could possibly bring him back into action after the events of "Ultimatum," wherein he learned the full truth of his past and revealed both Operation Treadstone and Blackbriar to the world? Well, while Bourne has managed to stay off-grid for 10 years, he's still technically on the run from the CIA after revealing details of its highly secretive operations to the world. Meanwhile, Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) is now working with a group of hacktivists who breach the CIA's server to retrieve details about the agency's black ops programs, catching the attention of Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) at the CIA's cybersecurity operations division. Before long, CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) sends hit squads after Bourne and Parsons along with an assassin known as "The Asset" (Vincent Cassel).

Meanwhile, Parsons' hack revealed details about Bourne's father and his role in recruiting his son into Treadstone. When Parsons is killed, she gives Bourne details of where to find the hacked files, leading the assassin to discover that his father, Richard Webb, was a CIA analyst who had a hand in creating Operation Treadstone. Bourne then learns of his father's death at the hands of The Asset and sets out on a mission to take out his rival assassin and CIA director Dewey, ultimately walking away victorious once again after learning more about his pre-Treadstone past.

"Jason Bourne" should have been a decent entry in the franchise, with Paul Greengrass back on board alongside Damon. But the original trilogy wrapped up so well that nothing could stop this film from seeming unnecessary. This paint-by-numbers "Bourne" entry just never feels like it's worthy of the saga to which it belongs.

Back in 2023, it was reported that Universal was pushing ahead with a new "Bourne" film and "All Quiet on the Western Front" director Edward Berger was set to call the shots. At the time, Deadline claimed the project was still in early development, Berger was in negotiations, and a script had yet to be written. Universal, meanwhile, didn't confirm the reports, and Matt Damon's involvement remained a question mark. Ever since, the film has remained in development hell.

2024 saw Damon praise Berger as a filmmaker but the actor wouldn't confirm his return, telling Stephen Colbert (via Variety), "At a certain point, somebody is going to need to take it over. I'm not getting any younger." Later that same year, industry development tracker Production Weekly listed "The Bourne Dilemma" as a title, though by that point Berger's involvement seemed unclear at best. As the director told Cinema Daily: 

"It's really not clear whether I'm not doing it right now and I really don't know what I will do in the future [...] But, Bourne is a wonderful franchise, and if there ever were, but I don't have it, but if there ever were an element that hasn't been told yet, and a good reason to bring it back, and for me to have the feeling I can make the movie as good as Paul Greengrass did, because he did great, great films. And that is a very high hurdle to jump over, you know?"

Later, in March 2025, it was confirmed that the Jason Bourne franchise was leaving Universal and being shopped around, with Deadline reporting that Skydance, Apple, and Netflix had shown interest. Until Jason Bourne finds a new home, we're unlikely to hear much more about a sixth film, but it seems such a thing isn't completely beyond the realm of possibility.

Watching the "Bourne" films in production order is the best way to track the story (which, aside from "The Bourne Legacy," unfolds in chronological order). Some might make an argument for skipping "Legacy" and going straight from "Ultimatum" to "Jason Bourne" in order to complete the titular agent's quadrilogy. Which ... fair enough. But in reality, neither "Legacy" nor the 2016 follow-up are essential viewing.

Frankly, the original three movies arguably form a perfect trilogy, beginning with a hugely-influential actioner followed by two movies that manage to ratchet up the action and intensity to exhilarating effect and wrap things up with a satisfying finale. The influence of these films can't be overstated and it's worth revisiting the trilogy just to see how director Doug Liman introduced a whole new action style with "Identity" and how Paul Greengrass built on that style with his first two sequels. Other Bourne-related projects are really just for completionists.

While we're on the topic of completionism, there is, of course, the "Treadstone" TV series, which is set in the same universe as the "Bourne" movies. This short-lived USA Network show delved into the founding and history of Operation Treadstone and starred Jeremy Irvine as John Randolph Bentley, an early Treadstone agent who is held captive by Soviets in 1973 and escapes. The show then jumps forward in time to track the stories of modern day Treadstone agents Tara Coleman (Tracy Ifeachor), Soyun Park (Han Hyo-joo), and Doug McKenna (Brian J. Smith). Aside from delving into the history of Treadstone itself, the show makes references to the events of "Bourne Identity," but it otherwise doesn't contain anything in its 10 episodes that have a major impact on the story of Jason Bourne himself. The series was canceled after one season and just sort of exists on the periphery of the franchise. That is to say, you're not going to miss much if you skip the series. Still, if you want to learn more about how Treadstone was created and developed, this show has you covered.

Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity" novel debuted all the way back in 1980, and before Universal and Doug Liman got their hands on the rights, Warner Bros. produced a miniseries for ABC which aired in 1988. "The Bourne Identity" was directed by Roger Young and starred Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne in a screen version of Ludlum's novel that hewed much closer to the book than the films, preserving the Cold War-era narrative. The story is essentially the same, however, with Chamberlain portraying an amnesic agent endowed with elite skills who sets out to discover who he really is.

Broadcast in a pair of 120-minute installments, this was essentially a TV movie split in two. It's not exactly as unrelentingly gripping and refreshingly "gritty" as Liman's movie, but it is a fairly faithful retelling of Ludlum's original story. Likewise, the mini-series has no connection to the universe depicted in the "Bourne" franchise established by Liman's film, so it's not necessary to watch if you just want to make sure you're getting the Matt Damon-led saga in-full. But fans of both the films and novels will certainly find something to like here.