Kiefer Sutherland Says The ’24′ Movie Script Is Finished

By now I hope the news that Fox’s 24 has been canceled has settled into your system. I’m a big fan of the show and was very sad (but not altogether surprised) to see it wave goodbye after eight seasons. But as always there’s a silver lining to be found and that is that we can now look forward to the much-talked-about movie version of 24.

A little while back we learned that State of Play screenwriter Billy Ray had been hired to write the 24 movie script. But even then some people were still (and still are) doubting we’d ever see the movie get made. However, it appears that things are moving faster than expected with the 24 movie.

Jack Bauer himself, Kiefer Sutherland, was recently over in the UK promoting 24‘s eighth season and talked to IGN about the movie. He revealed that Billy Ray has already finished the script and the movie is well on its way. Sutherland hasn’t read the script yet himself, but plans to when he returns to the U.S. Ray’s initial idea, to transport Jack Bauer to Europe, was a big hit with Fox and the show’s producers and I imagine he’ll continue to impress with the script.

Sutherland also confirmed what we’ve been hearing for awhile now: the movie version will get rid of the trademark real-time aspect, instead condensing events into one two-hour movie. The movie will likely take place over one 24-hour period, but nothing has been made official yet as far as the time-framing.

Whatever they decide to do, ditching the real-time aspect will allow Jack Bauer to travel extensively without us having to see it onscreen. As Sutherland says:

“We’ve always had to have the situation come to us… But now it’s feasible to get [Jack Bauer] from Eastern Europe to England [during the movie].”

Finally, Sutherland talked about what the plot of the 24 movie might be, saying that it doesn’t have to be a bomb (or something equally as magnanimous) but that it can be “something personal that people understand.” I’m sure the plot will still be over-the-top but perhaps a bit more grounded. Think more season 1 than season 6 of the show.

Are you surprised to see things moving along as quickly as they are with the 24 movie? What sort of plot would you like the movie to have?

There’s no word on when the 24 movie will start shooting or when it will hit theaters, but I imagine with the script completed and season 8 of the show now finished filming that it won’t be that long before we hear word. Stay tuned.

Source: IGN (via Cinemablend)