Fox looking to explore Jack Bauer’s origins in a 24 prequel series

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

20th Century Fox clearly doesn't want to leave the 24 franchise alone, and who can blame them. Over the course of eight-seasons, audiences were thrilled by the high-stakes adventures of counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) which played out in real-time and dealt with terrorist attacks, assassination attempts, government conspiracies, and more. The eighth season brought the long-running series to a close, but rumblings of a feature-film, revival series, or even a spin-off kept the franchise alive. Jack Bauer would later return in 2014 for 24: Live Another Day, a twelve-episode event series, and a spin-off soon followed which starred Corey Hawkins (The Walking Dead) as Eric Carter, an ex-Army Ranger. However, when 24: Legacy was cancelled after a single season, the fate of the franchise was left up in the air.

Series creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran are said to be working on the next chapter in the 24 franchise which will see Jack Bauer returning, but with a twist; Kiefer Sutherland likely won't be returning to reprise the role as the new show is apparently an ongoing prequel series which will tell the origin of how Jack Bauer became Jack Bauer. Alright. Executive producer Howard Gordon is also involved with the project and is working with Surnow and Cochran on the idea. The project is still in the early stages at this point, but will audiences be into Jack Bauer when he's not played by Kiefer Sutherland?

This isn't the only potential 24 series which Fox has been in the process of developing, as there was also a legal-thriller which would have continued to embrace the real-time format in a criminal justice setting. The series was to feature a female lead as a prosecutor who "uncovers a legal conspiracy and has to work against the clock to save a death row inmate facing imminent execution whom she had helped prosecute but may be innocent." The possibility of the franchise becoming an anthology series was also touched upon by Fox Television chairwoman Dana Walden during the Television Critics Association press-tour last summer. "We are really exploring what the future, the next version of 24 might be, maybe in more anthological storytelling," Walden said. "The same kind of ticking-clock format but apply it to something else. It will have the same urgency but may not be set in the CTU, it will have same style and urgency but in a different venue."

Are you down for more 24 adventures with a younger Jack Bauer?