It’s hard to think of Kiefer Sutherland without thinking of Jack Bauer, the CTU agent who foiled terrorists again and again in 24. It’s been nearly a decade since we last saw Jack Bauer in 24: Live Another Day, but the possibility of another revival of the beloved action series remains.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Kiefer Sutherland explained why 24 remains so important to him and teased that he’s got a few ideas for how it could be brought back.
I mean, it was the best time of my life. I was in my early 30s, so I was physically capable. I was not in my 20s, so I was a little smarter — not a whole lot, but a little smarter. And I got to do it for 10 years, which is, I guarantee you, the most stable opportunity that an actor will ever be given. So for all of those reasons, and just the fantastic people that I got to make it with — and by the way, it’s so nice to do something that people like. [Laughs] Because I’ve had the other side, where I’ve done a few things where people are like, ‘Yeah, that sucks.’ I guarantee you the other version is nicer. It was incredibly special for me and I would like to see it continue on.
Jack Bauer was last seen being taken away by the Russians in exchange for the freedom of Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub), and Kiefer Sutherland teased that one possible revival could see a new team trying to free Jack. “Howard [Gordon] and I talk all the time and invariably it comes up,” Sutherland said. “The idea of him being brought back — I’m just spitballing — I think that’s an interesting idea. You introduce a new cast of people in their effort to get him out, and it lives on from that point. There’s a lot of ways to go about it.”
While Kiefer Sutherland has previously said that he feels Jack’s story is unresolved, the actor doesn’t necessarily have to return as the character for a 24 revival. He believes the real-time concept is a franchise-worthy idea as well. “I also think it’s such a great idea to take a 24-hour moment in somebody’s life that is desperate — and that could be a fireman; that could be so many different circumstances,” Sutherland explained. “It boggles my mind that someone hasn’t come along and said, ‘Well, we need to do this with it.’ So whether it involves me or not, I just think that to do something in real time is so clever — difficult, but clever — that I find it kind of shocking that it hasn’t manifested itself into something else and/or bigger.” Sutherland continued: “I was grateful to have had the opportunity. If I get to do something else with it, I would certainly jump at that. But if it were to simply grow into something else, I would be its champion there as well, because I think the story is such a good idea. What was it, 20 years after the initial Star Trek that they finally started morphing into something different? I certainly see that for something like 24, because I believe it is a franchise-worthy idea. So, yeah — time will tell.” The last 24 project was 24: Legacy, a spinoff series starring Corey Hawkins that only lasted a single season.
Should 24 return, and if it does, should it do so with or without Kiefer Sutherland?