Claim: Matt Damon works in the film industry.

Jason Bourne is a fictional character created by novelist Robert Ludlum . Bourne is the antihero in a series of fourteen novels -LRB- to 2016 -RRB- and subsequent film adaptations . He first appeared in the novel The Bourne Identity -LRB- 1980 -RRB- , which was adapted for television in 1988 . The novel was very loosely adapted in 2002 into a feature film under the same name and starred Matt Damon in the lead role .   The character originally featured in three novels by Ludlum , released between 1980 and 1990 , followed by nine novels written by Eric Van Lustbader since 2004 . Along with the first feature film , The Bourne Identity -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , Jason Bourne also appears in two sequel movies The Bourne Supremacy -LRB- 2004 -RRB- and The Bourne Ultimatum -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , both with Damon again in the lead role . Jeremy Renner stars in the fourth film of the franchise , The Bourne Legacy , released in August 2012 . Damon stated in interviews that he would not do another Bourne film without Paul Greengrass , who had directed the second and third installments . Greengrass agreed to direct Damon in the fifth installment in the franchise , Jason Bourne . Greengrass jointly wrote the screenplay with editor Christopher Rouse .