The clock's ticking on the 24 film

Kiefer Sutherland said they were working on it, Fox kept up the hints and now it’s official. Well, nearly.

If you’ve been waiting in eager anticipation of the official word on a film based on 24, then the wait is over. But you might want to keep that breath held just a little longer – the only deal in place at the moment is for the executive producers of the show to start writing the movie’s script. 24 creators Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow will pen the screenplay, with a little help on the story from current 24 head scribe Howard Gordon.

Once the words are in place, the film bigwigs will decide whether they actually want to make a movie. Which, given the current hot status of the series, would seem to be a foregone conclusion. So what do we know so far? Without a word written, it’s tough to say, but one of the bigger elements will be ditching the real-time element, which will let Sutherland’s Jack Bauer flit about the world on a massive, Mission: Impossible-style quest. And if current whispers hold, it’s more than likely we’ll see him jet into London during the running time.

Also planned is the idea that the film will follow on from events in the Sixth Season, which will mean juggling the film’s release date so that international fans (such as us loyal British Jack supporters) can see it once the season is finished. But at the same time, the producers have pledged not to tie it into the show’s chronology too closely – that way lies putting off people who’ve never even seen a single episode.

And no deals are yet in place for the cast – but we know that Kiefer still enjoys playing Jack, particularly since he just signed up to three more series…