Jack Bauer is coming to the big screen. Maybe. Seems FOX is mulling cancelling their number 2 scripted program, probably not as much due to declining ratings as to the swelling budget, but that doesn’t mean the franchise is dead at all. Following in the footsteps of X-Files, Jack Bauer’s death on TV will likely lead to a rebirth on the big screen.
Word is that while they mull cancellation of 24, FOX execs are eyeing a feature film pitch from big screen writer Billy Ray. 24 is still past the eight-figure mark in ratings, but nowhere near its peak in either raw numbers or advertising demo. The high-octane action of the franchise, though, is still very much a box office stable and analysts everywhere have long predicted that 24 is one of the most transferrable television properties on the planet.
If a film is done it would likely follow the template that Keifer Sutherland himself laid out years ago: a full 24 hours compressed into two hours of screen time. No matter how you look at it, a big screen Bauer adventure is going to have a radically transformed narrative. The argument could be made that it is this unique narrative device that works so well for 24, but surely the over-top story-telling would fit well outside of the small screen as well. The question is: would Bauer be allowed to torture on the big screen? Let’s hope we know the answer soon.
Kiefer started out on the big screen and he should return there. Check out Kiefer's bio, "Kiefer Sutherland: Living Dangerously" on amazon.com.