Attempts to get a 24 movie up on the big screen have been going on for years. One version almost made it to the screen before hitting an indefinite production delay; when Jack Bauer finally did resurface, it in the form of a 12-episode TV miniseries called 24: Live Another Day.

Live Another Day turned out to be a welcome return to the violent espionage world of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), with the shortened episode count (12, as opposed to 24) actually working in the show's favor to keep the action and drama nice and tight and focused - sans random cougar attacks or memory loss story fillers. That's all to say: fans were glad to get back Jack, and would arguably like to see more. Hence why more 24 movie talks are reportedly taking place.

TV Line has the exclusive that show producers Imagine Entertainment - and chairman Brian Grazer - are once again optimistic about getting a 24 movie into production. Noted in the report is the fact that while movie plans may be on the minds of producers, there's still the issue of show owner 20th Century Fox and whatever plans could be in store for a 10th season of the show - presumably another miniseries like Live Another Day. The article quotes Fox Networks Group Chairman CEO Peter Rice (back in July) as saying there would have to be talks about where to take the show next.

24 movie script finished

For the studio and producers, the answer is fairly straightforward: you want the most out of your brand, and that means making the movie AND another miniseries. If the opportunity is there, why not? However, for the fans, it is a different question - and one the studio and producers should ultimately be paying close attention to: How much fan enthusiasm is there really for Jack Bauer?

24: Live Another Day worked in large part because we were getting the characters and world back in a smaller dose, after much time had passed, with enough new elements mixed in with the old to make the experience both fresh and familiar, all at once. Right now, if I were a betting man, I'd say there's much more enthusiasm to see another miniseries produced with a quality of Live Another Day (which wasn't universally loved, mind you), instead of having to go through the big marketing sell for a 24 movie.

24 Live Another Day Trailer promo

As always, there's question of what a 24 movie has to offer that any number of other single-day action movies (see: Die Hard 1 - 3) didn't already offer before. However, on the TV side, Jack Bauer proved this past year that even in the now-crowded action/espionage sub-genre, there's still room for the godfather of American counter-terrorism badassery to have has day. Maybe the show execs should play it safe and stick with their (new) winning formula.

As always, we'll keep you updated on all things 24.

Source: TV Line