The new trailer for Treadstone reveals the first look at USA Network’s Jason Bourne-inspired TV show. Novelist Robert Ludlum first introduced the character of Jason Bourne in his 1980 book The Bourne Identity, which would later be followed up by a series of books from both Ludlum and Eric Van Lustbader. Bourne would first appear on movie screens in the 2002 adaptation of Bourne Identity starring Matt Damon. Though the first Bourne Identity was not a huge box office hit, it had a strong second life on DVD, and Universal would later go ahead with a whole series of Bourne movies: 2004’s The Bourne Supremacy, 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum, 2012’s The Bourne Legacy (the only film in the series not to star Damon) and 2016’s Jason Bourne.
With no further Bourne movies currently in the pipeline, and Damon sounding lukewarm about the idea of continuing, USA Network will keep the franchise alive with a spinoff series called Treadstone. The series’ title actually refers to the very same secret CIA operation, introduced in Ludlum’s novels, that was responsible for turning Jason Bourne into a super assassin. The show will deal specifically with the origin story of Treadstone, while also following a present day group of sleeper agents, all of whom have been given Bourne-like superhuman abilities by the program. The show’s cast inlcludes Brian J. Smith, Jeremy Irvine, Michelle Forbes, Omar Metwally, Tracy Ifeachor, Han Hyo-joo, Gabrielle Scharnitzky, Michael Gaston, Shruti Haasan, and Emilia Schüle.
The first trailer for Treadstone has now been released by USA Network, and indeed it looks like an action-packed show very much in the vein of the Bourne movies, with a strong mystery element included. See the trailer in the space below:
As Treadstone EP Ben Smith explained to EW in an interview, the show largely deals with an offshoot program called “Cicada,” which involves sleeper agents being awakened all over the world a decade after they originally volunteered for the program. These agents, like Jason Bourne, have no memory of the original program, so of course their lives are thrown into turmoil as they are suddenly activated to begin going on deadly missions. As for whether Jason Bourne himself will be involved in the show somehow, Smith said “The events from Jason Bourne’s story are definitely present as they had a long-lasting impact on the CIA and many of our characters.”
Judging by the trailer as well as Smith’s descriptions, it sounds as though Treadstone will very much appeal to fans of the Bourne movies with their intense and action-packed take on the secret agent genre. It seems the Bourne universe does indeed have a life after Matt Damon, even if the movie franchise is indefinitely on hold.
Treadstone premieres in October on USA Networks.
Source: USA Network, EW