24 is an American TV show the chronicles the life of counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). Each season of the show depicts an event that encompasses 24 real time hours; with each episode covering one hour. By the end of it's eighth season, which is currently airing, it will overpass
The Avengers as the longest running espionage series on television.
Rumors of
24 transitioning from TV series to full feature film have been ongoing for years. Now, according to Variety, those rumors have substance.
Twentieth Century Fox has hired screenwriter Billy Ray (
Breach, Flightplan) to pen the script for the feature version. Fox executives and producers were impressed by Ray's movie pitch, which takes Jack Bauer to Europe.
The script is said to have already gone through
24 star Kiefer Sutherland, who is also an executive producer on the series. He has expressed eagerness to turn the internationally popular TV series into a film franchise. Besides Sutherland, there are many other important people directly involved in the show who would more than likely be included in bringing the feature to fruition: Series creators Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, executive producer Howard Gordon (Real Time Productions) and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment.
24 has had a TV movie released before, titled
24: Redemption, which aired prior to the show's seventh season in 2008 and was nominated for five Emmy Awards.
No information has been released disclosing when the
24 feature film will begin production. The largest deciding factor at this point is whether Fox renews the series for another season. There is currently no contract set past season eight (which is currently showing), though Sutherland has expressed interest in returning to star. It is more than likely that producing a
24 film destined for theaters is too daunting a task while the TV series is still running.
Though a
24 film is still very much in the preliminary stages, it is definitely a movie in the right direction.
Until then, fans can continue to watch
24 on the Fox networdk, or purchase the trade paperback graphic novels available through IDW Publishing.
Information courtesy of Variety.