Zendaya is currently in the midst of a career year, with four major films—The Drama, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Dune: Part Three—set for release. However, it sounds like next year may take her in a considerably different direction based on the projects we're hearing she's currently pursuing.
Following recent reports that Zendaya was offered the lead role in a new version of The Fugitive for Warner Bros., Jeff Sneider of The InSneider is now reporting that the actress has met with Universal Pictures about potentially taking over the lead role in a new Bourne film.
We're going to wisely take this one with an enormous grain of salt, but if his sources prove to be accurate, Matt Damon would not reprise his role as Jason Bourne, and Zendaya would play a new female spy character who would potentially headline a new series of films—granted, of course, if the first is a success.
While her 2026 has been busy, Zendaya doesn't currently have anything official on her shooting schedule for 2027 or 2028 despite the rumors. She remains attached to a Ronnie Spector biopic from Barry Jenkins, but it's unclear whether that project is ready to be her next starring vehicle or if she'll be able to tackle something else first.
The Bourne franchise has been enormously lucrative for Universal Pictures, grossing over $1.6 billion across five films, so it makes sense why the studio is keen on revitalizing one of its biggest intellectual properties. However, making a Bourne film without Matt Damon has not proven easy to pull off, especially in terms of box office success. Universal's only attempt, The Bourne Legacy, recouped its budget but failed to make much of an impression on audiences or critics alike, leaving the franchise dormant until Damon and director Paul Greengrass returned for 2016's Jason Bourne—which, despite middling reviews, grossed over $416 million worldwide.
Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) has been tapped to helm the next Bourne film, with Joe Barton (Black Doves) penning the script.
Back in 2024, when pressed on details for the new film, Damon denied knowing anything but spoke highly of Berger: "There’s a great director, named Edward Berger, who directed All Quiet on the Western Front. I don’t know if you saw it, it came out recently. Fantastic. A German director, he’s wonderful. And he said he had an idea. I would love to work with him! So he’s working on it, so I’m looking, I’m as anxious as you are to see if this thing—I hope it’s great, and that we can do it."
However, he did also acknowledge that he can't play Jason Bourne forever: "At a certain point, someone is going to need to take it over. I’m not getting any younger."
Whether that means Zendaya will step in to fill his shoes as a new spy remains to be seen, but it's certainly an exciting prospect to consider. The two will be seen together in The Odyssey next month, so we imagine we could get an update on this front in the not-so-distant future, especially as that global press tour gets underway.