The Jason Bourne film series has enthralled audiences for nearly two decades with its tense blend of international espionage, political intrigue, and gripping action sequences. Based on the bestselling novels by Robert Ludlum, the franchise follows the exploits of CIA assassin Jason Bourne, played to perfection by Matt Damon in four of the five films. After being pulled from the Mediterranean Sea with complete amnesia, Bourne must piece together his mysterious past while using his innate skills to evade those trying to kill him.
The fast-paced, globe-trotting films have grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide, cementing Bourne as one of cinema’s most popular action heroes. However, with so many sequels and spinoffs spanning 14 years, it can be confusing to figure out the ideal viewing order. That’s why we’ve created this straightforward guide to watching the Bourne movies chronologically, so you can fully appreciate the complete Bourne experience. Keep reading to find out the proper sequence that reveals Bourne’s complete story arc.
Jason Bourne Movies in Chronological Order
In this section, we will explain the correct chronological order to watch the Jason Bourne film franchise. We’ll provide an overview of each movie in the series, briefly explaining the plot and how it connects to the overall story arc about Jason Bourne discovering his true identity. Following the movies in chronological order enhances the viewing experience, allowing audiences to fully understand Bourne’s relationships and character progression over time.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Released in 2002, The Bourne Identity kickstarted the hugely successful action franchise and introduced movie fans to the character of Jason Bourne, played with clenched-jaw intensity by Matt Damon. The film opens with Bourne being pulled aboard a fishing boat in the Mediterranean Sea, unconscious and suffering from two bullet wounds in his back. Upon waking up, Bourne has no memory of his identity or any recollection of his past. His only clue is a laser projector embedded under his skin that displays the number of a safe deposit box in Zurich.
Thus begins Bourne’s globe-spanning journey to recover his memories and learn why so many shadowy figures seem intent on killing him. After arriving in Zurich and collecting money, a gun, and multiple passports from the bank box, Bourne experiences flashbacks of a previous life that point to covert military training. When more assassins start tracking him down, Bourne realizes he possesses lethal combat and tactical skills that confirm his dangerous past.
A chance encounter with a German drifter named Marie (Franka Potente) gives Bourne his first ally, as the two go on the run together while retracing the steps of Bourne’s fragmented psyche. In his search for answers, Bourne is pursued by CIA deputies Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) and Alexander Conklin (Chris Cooper), who ran the clandestine Treadstone project that trained assassins like Bourne.
The Bourne Identity was both a critical and commercial smash hit, raking in over $200 million worldwide. Critics praised the film’s intense action choreography and carpet-pulled-out-from-under-you thrills. But the glue holding it all together was Damon, who imbued Bourne with an arresting mix of lethal precision and wounded vulnerability. The actor’s committed performance instantly turned Jason Bourne into a 21st century action icon ready to lead the espionage genre into a new millennium. Audiences were thrilled to tag along on his explosive journey.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
The Bourne saga ramped up the action and stakes in 2004’s The Bourne Supremacy, as Matt Damon returned to the role of Jason Bourne, the former CIA assassin still struggling to piece together his fragmented past. Picking up the story two years after the events of The Bourne Identity, the sequel finds Bourne now living a quiet, anonymous life with his girlfriend Marie (Franka Potente) in Goa, India. However, his hard-fought peace is shattered when Bourne is framed for killing two men in Berlin and stealing $3 million from the CIA.
The truth behind the killings and theft is a Russian agent named Kirill (Karl Urban) who murdered the agents while impersonating Bourne in order to steal the money and implicate him in the crime. The CIA, believing Bourne is responsible, is quickly back on his trail, this time led by Pamela Landy (Joan Allen). Landy corners Bourne and Marie in India, but they escape. After a stunning car chase through crowded streets, Kirill catches up and murders Marie, leaving Bourne devastated.
Now more determined than ever to find those truly accountable for Marie’s death, Bourne heads to Naples, Italy to uncover why he was framed. This brings him face to face with Ward Abbott (Brian Cox), the former CIA chief who ran Treadstone. After exposing Abbott’s role in stealing the $3 million, Bourne discovers a dark revelation – Abbott had ordered the hit on the agents in Berlin to prevent them from exposing Treadstone to the public.
Bourne ultimately gets vengeance by killing Abbott aboard a commercial jet. He then finds Landy and makes a deal, giving her the stolen money in exchange for details on his true identity. Landy reveals that his name before Treadstone was David Webb, providing the long-sought answer about his former life. The Bourne Supremacy earned high praise for building upon the first film with even more intelligent plotting, bone-crunching action, and soulful acting by Damon. For Bourne, the hunt continues, but his own identity finally starts coming into focus.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum picks up mere minutes after The Bourne Supremacy, with Jason Bourne still evading capture and wanting to expose Operation Treadstone to the world. Hot on his trail is a new breed of CIA hunter called Operation Blackbriar, headed by the ruthless Vosen (David Strathairn) who intends to have Bourne killed.
After six weeks off the grid, Bourne resurfaces in Paris and arranges a meeting with Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), his Treadstone handler with whom he shares a complicated history. Seeking more clues about his past, Bourne heads to London to find Neal Daniels, a CIA station chief who ran Treadstone surveillance. But Blackbriar gets to Daniels first, leaving Bourne to watch an assassin named Paz commit Daniels’ forced suicide. Bourne manages to meet with Simon Ross, a reporter covering Treadstone, but Vosen orders his termination – an act Bourne once again witnesses.
Realizing he was manipulated into being Treadstones’ assassin, Bourne confronts Parsons about their relationship. She reveals she recruited him into Treadstone at the behest of Hirsch (Albert Finney), the behavior modification doctor who erased recruits’ memories. Bourne heads to Manhattan to confront Hirsch, who reveals that Bourne volunteered for Treadstone after his father was murdered – a lie implanted by Hirsch.
In the final act, Bourne lures Vosen and Blackbriar into a spectacular showdown. He plays an incriminating phone call for Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) exposing Blackbriar’s deeds, then heads to Vosen’s offices. After battling Vosen’s right-hand-man in a brutal fistfight, Bourne spares his life, telling him “Look at what they make you give.” He then disappears into the East River.
The Bourne Ultimatum earned rave reviews for its propulsive pacing and mesmerizing action scenes. But most acclaimed was Damon, whose nuanced turn elicited Bourne’s gravest torments. By unmasking his own unwitting role in Treadstone’s sins, Bourne inched closer to redemption.
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Released in 2012, The Bourne Legacy is the only film in the franchise to not star Matt Damon as titular hero Jason Bourne. However, the movie retains the same thrilling espionage action that made the original trilogy such a smash success. Stepping in as lead this time is Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross, another tough-as-nails operative molded by the CIA’s covert enhancement programs.
The story overlaps with the events of The Bourne Ultimatum, which exposed the CIA’s illegal Treadstone and Outcome operations to the public. As Jason Bourne continues evading capture overseas, CIA bigwig Eric Byer (Edward Norton) orders all Outcome agents and scientists to be permanently “retired” before they can compromise the agency further. This puts a target on Aaron Cross, who was enhanced through virulent “chems” that have dangerously altered his physiology.
When a drone strike obliterates the Outcome research lab, chemist Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz) miraculously survives. She reveals Cross no longer needs the special meds to maintain his enhancements, freeing him from the CIA’s control. Byer dispatches a hit squad, but Cross saves Shearing and they go on the run, desperately seeking more chems so Cross’ mind and body don’t deteriorate.
The action spans the globe from Alaska to Southeast Asia as Cross battles Outcome’s assassins while hunting for the medicines he needs to survive. He and Marta prove to be a formidable pair, combining their scientific and tactical skills to stay one step ahead of their pursuers. After finally procuring a stash of the remaining chems in a frenetic motorcycle chase in the Philippines, Aaron settles into a new life off the grid, free from the CIA’s machinations.
While some criticized the film for lacking Jason Bourne’s presence, The Bourne Legacy still earned praise for its intense action sequences and Renner’s captivating performance as an unlikely fugitive. By expanding the Bourne universe, the franchise was well-positioned to thrive in the 21st century and beyond.
Jason Bourne (2016)
After sitting out The Bourne Legacy, Matt Damon made a thrilling return to the franchise in 2016’s Jason Bourne, portraying the rogue assassin for the first time since 2007. The film opens twelve years after the events of The Bourne Ultimatum, with Bourne surviving through illegal fighting in Greece. His past once again catches up to him when his former Treadstone contact Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) hacks into the CIA database and uncovers new revelations about Bourne’s father.
The breach puts Bourne back in the crosshairs of the CIA, now headed by Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones). Dewey runs the Iron Hand program and believes bringing Bourne back into the fold will boost the CIA’s public image after past scandals. He tasks cyber ops agent Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) with tracking down Bourne and Parsons before a compromising social media launch revealing the CIA’s black ops history.
In Berlin, Bourne intercepts Parsons and learns his father Richard Webb conceived Treadstone, which recruited Bourne after his dad’s death. Seeking vengeance, Bourne heads to Las Vegas to confront Dewey during his speech at a tech convention. Anticipating this move, Dewey orders an assassin to take out Bourne – Parsons becomes collateral damage. Bourne escapes and persuades Lee to help expose Dewey’s crimes instead of aiding his manhunt.
The final act takes place in London as Bourne evades CIA agents while attempting to infiltrate Dewey’s office. After an intense car chase and brutal hand-to-hand battle with a fellow operative, Bourne records Dewey’s admission about his nefarious programs before escaping capture once again.
Jason Bourne earned mixed reviews, with some critics arguing it recycled plot points from earlier films. But the combination of Damon’s nuanced performance and breathtaking action scenes still thrilled audiences, resulting in over $400 million in ticket sales. For a battered yet unbowed action hero like Bourne, redemption is always just over the next horizon.
Treadstone (TV Series) (2019)
In 2019, the Jason Bourne film franchise expanded to the small screen with Treadstone, a thriller series set in the same universe. Developed for the USA Network, the show delves into the early days of Operation Treadstone, the CIA’s covert assassin training program that molded Jason Bourne into a lethal sleeper agent.
Set across two timelines, Treadstone explores the program’s origins in 1973 Berlin at the height of the Cold War. Agents are recruited and put through intense behavioral modification protocols to eliminate empathy and compassion. At the same time, present-day “sleepers” who were secretly trained by Treadstone begin to mysteriously activate years later, compelled to carry out the violent missions they were programmed for.
In 1973, CIA operative John Randolph Bentley is dispatched to East Berlin to infiltrate the KGB-backed Cicada program, which brainwashes its own spies. But when Bentley’s cover is blown, the KGB subject him to their sadistic methods before CIA agents rescue him. Back in the U.S., Bentley volunteers for the nascent Treadstone project to exact revenge. Meanwhile, Treadstone doctor Suzanne Brewer perfects techniques to create unwavering assassins by administering experimental drugs and psychotherapy.
In the modern timeline, sleeper agents embedded across the globe are suddenly activating after years of dormancy, unaware of their programming. This includes Russian assassin Petra, American military vet J. Randolph Bentley, and spy couple SoYun and Woong-Chul in North Korea. They begin carrying out missions oblivious to their actions, converging on intersecting paths toward an explosive endgame.
Though Treadstone was cancelled after one season, it expanded the Bourne mythology by exploring the disturbing methods used to mold unstable recruits into robotic killers. The series connects directly to the genesis of Jason Bourne, showing how he went from patriotic volunteer to unwitting assassin robbed of his very identity. For Bourne fans, Treadstone offered intriguing insights into the shadowy CIA brainwashing at the core of the franchise.
Bonus: The Bourne Identity (1988 TV Movie)
Before Matt Damon brought Jason Bourne to life in the blockbuster film franchise, there was a previous small-screen adaptation of the classic Robert Ludlum novel. The Bourne Identity premiered in 1988 as a two-part TV movie on ABC, starring Richard Chamberlain as the titular amnesiac assassin. However, this original version bears little connection to the Damon movies aside from sharing the same source material.
The made-for-TV film largely follows the same premise, with Chamberlain playing a heavily wounded man rescued at sea who has no memory of his identity or background. As he reconstructs the pieces of his past, he discovers his elite combat abilities and eventually uncovers his true nature as a notorious assassin named Jason Bourne.
While these broad strokes match the 2002 version that launched Damon’s famed quadrilogy, the 1988 take diverges significantly in tone, casting, and execution. Chamberlain’s portrayal lacks the tormented edge and physicality that Damon brought to defining the character. The spy game theatrics also lend a more exaggerated, pulpier feel compared to the gritty realism of the Damon films.
With its condensed runtime and compressed plot, the 1980s TV movie lacks the expansive globe-trotting scope that would come to define the Bourne film franchise under Damon and director Doug Liman. Taken on its own merits, the original Bourne Identity works as a serviceable Cold War-era thriller. But for fans of the modern Bourne saga, the Chamberlain version will feel like more of a cursory curiosity than essential viewing.
Ultimately, while this predecessor adapted the same Ludlum source material, the 1988 TV-movie rendition of The Bourne Identity inhabits its own standalone timeline and backstory. Audiences were clearly hungry for a more hard-hitting interpretation, which arrived spectacularly in 2002 with the creation of an action icon in Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne.
Best Viewing Order for First-Time Viewers
For those approaching the Jason Bourne film franchise for the first time, the best viewing order is to watch the movies in their original theatrical release sequence. Starting with The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum allows you to experience the acclaimed original Damon trilogy as audiences first saw it, following Bourne’s journey linear storyline and character growth without disruption.
Release order also ensures you take in all the callbacks, references, and connections between the sequels in the ideal narrative progression. Certain reveals or plot points in later films will have more impact if you’ve seen the preceding events in chronological order. Viewers who start with some of the newer films may feel lost when Bourne or other characters allude to prior relationships or missions.
Sticking with release order for a first viewing also builds anticipation for the next installment organically, allowing you to dive right into the follow-up film after each cliffhanger ending without confusion. Once you’ve seen the initial trilogy, you can then enjoy The Bourne Legacy and Jason Bourne as one-off adventures that expand the Bourne universe outside the main saga. For maximum immersion in this riveting spy world for the first time, release order is the way to go.
Jason Bourne Cinematic Universe Connections
Beyond the five major theatrical films starring Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner, the Jason Bourne movie franchise also expanded into other media that further develop the cinematic universe. The most essential content is the TV series Treadstone, which we already talked about. It is a one-season show that delves into the early 1970s origins of Operation Treadstone, the CIA’s covert assassin program. Viewing the show helps enhance understanding of how Bourne and other agents were conditioned.
Robert Ludlum’s original Bourne novels also provide richer backstories for characters like David Webb that the films only touch upon. There are also a pair of Bourne video games – The Bourne Conspiracy and Quantum Solace – that adapt stories from the Ludlum books to put players directly into Bourne’s shoes in interactive form.
Several other Damon films like The Bourne Ultimatum and The Bourne Legacy have video game tie-ins as well, though they follow unrelated storylines. For diehard fans eager to immerse themselves in the Bourne universe, everything connects on some level. But casual viewers will find the films themselves provide the complete Bourne story on screen, with the books and shows offering optional supplemental world-building.
Ultimately the core Bourne saga remains the five Damon/Renner movies, which extensively overlap and build upon each other. But exploring the other media provides added insights into who Jason Bourne was before audiences first met him cruising Mediterranean waters with amnesia.
The Bourne Films Wrap Up in Exhilarating Fashion
After five films filled with death-defying action, international intrigue, and more double-crosses than a chess tournament, the Bourne franchise has cemented its status as one of Hollywood’s most reliably entertaining action movie properties. Matt Damon’s committed performance as the tormented amnesiac assassin in search of his true identity has endeared fans to the character for over 15 years now. Each film builds upon the last, allowing moviegoers to gradually unravel the shadowy conspiracy behind the CIA’s immoral Treadstone project right alongside Bourne himself.
While the more recent entries may have lost some of the visceral punch of the initial Damon trilogy, the series has retained its DNA of seat-squirming suspense and globetrotting chase scenes. With rumors of another Damon-led sequel floating around, it’s clear Jason Bourne still has unfinished business on the big screen. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or a newbie looking to get in on the action, watching the Bourne saga in chronological order ensures you’ll receive the complete rollercoaster ride of adrenaline-surging entertainment. Once you’ve completed Bourne’s journey, you’ll no doubt find yourself wanting to tag along on his next mission.
