Kiefer Sutherland offers fresh 24 update as producer completes pitch for revival

Kiefer Sutherland has provided a big update on the revival of Fox’s hit real-time thriller 24.

A new 24 project was recently confirmed to be in development by showrunner Howard Gordon, following teases by Sutherland about a new script that could bring back Jack Bauer and revive the franchise.

Speaking exclusively to Radio Times Magazine in a new interview, Sutherland revealed that Gordon has completed an outline for the potential revival.

Asked whether he ever reminisces about his character Jack Bauer and considers ‘what if?’, Sutherland said: “I’ve had conversations with [series producer] Howard Gordon.”

He added: “He’s come up with an outline, which I think is an exciting step forward. We’ll see what happens. But I’m very open to it. And hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later!”

24 premiered in 2001 and ran for nine seasons as well as a two-hour movie, becoming hugely successful with viewers.

The show followed counter-terrorist federal agent Jack Bauer as he raced to defend the United States from various threats.

The feature that set the series apart from other thrillers was its use of real time, with each episode covering an hour in a day in the life of Bauer.

"It’s absolutely in process, there’s something we are developing," Gordon told Deadline of the revival last month, although he noted that Disney, which now owns the rights to 24 following its acquisition of 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television), has not yet committed to the project.

He continued: "I have such a nostalgia for that show, and I think Kiefer does too. One thing we couldn't figure out for a long time was a direction that ever held water, that sustained itself. This feels like it could be, but it’s not formal, it’s not done."

He added that he had reservations about reviving the franchise. "What I really don't want to happen is that it's not good because I don't think that's fair to the show. It's not fair to the fans, not fair to, frankly, to myself,” he said.

"So it has to be something that you connect to, or at least you tell yourself you're connected to. It may not turn out very well, but you have to at least believe that it's something.”

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