Kiefer Sutherland Bringing Back His Best Character?
Could we see Kiefer Sutherland bring back his best character to the small screen? It would be a welcome return for one of the best
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Kiefer Sutherland has played a multitude of different characters over the years, having put together an almost four-decade-long career in Hollywood. But among the many movies and series he’s been a part of over the years, none might be as memorable or as groundbreaking as his portrayal of Jack Bauer in the Fox series 24. While the character, in and of itself was excellent, it was the format of the show that really stuck out. And it appears that Kiefer Sutherland would be into the idea of returning to the series, taking on the Bauer character once again. Could we be heading back to the CTU?
While speaking with GQ (via MovieWeb), Kiefer Sutherland discussed a number of different career talking points, and within that the top of a 24 revival series came up. Would Sutherland be willing to return the Jack Bauer role? It seems that he would actually welcome the chance, recognizing how great this story really was and how the character could use some closure on his arc. Check out what Kiefer Sutherland had to say about the prospect of counting down another 24 hours over the course of an entire series:
“I miss it. It was an incredible experience…I love playing that character. I do believe the story is unresolved. If something were to be written that made sense to me and that I thought was going to contribute to the franchise then I would be behind it, even if my participation in that were to be limited.”
From a high level, this is a pretty open-ended answer from Kiefer Sutherland about returning to 24 in some way. It’s clear that he has an affinity for Jack Bauer and the series as a whole. And he’d clearly be ready to walk back into the part if the script and timing were correct. This isn’t a promise of an actual new show on the way, but sometimes when actors are presented with these kinds of questions, and answer accordingly, it can start the executive and studio thought process spinning. Stranger things and all.
24 ran for nine seasons on Fox starting in 2001. It starred Kiefer Sutherland as the aforementioned Jack Bauer, a CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) agent who has to work to stop the assassination of Presidential hopeful David Palmer (Dennis Hasbert). But the real hook for the show was that it was all aired in “real-time” with the 24 referencing the 24 hours in a day. The entire plot of the show, each season anyway, unfolded over a single day. At the time, this was pretty groundbreaking and opened up a whole new kind of broadcast series formatting. We last saw Jack Bauer he had staged his own death and was able to (presumably) walk away from the life. If Kiefer Sutherland were to get back into the mix here, we could easily pick up the story years later.
There was a revival show, 24: Legacy which aired in 2017. But that didn’t involve Kiefer Sutherland at all and the show starred Corey Hawkins in the lead role. That version of the series lasted all of one season on Fox. The studio had briefly discussed the idea of a Jack Bauer prequel series, but it died on the vine. As a longtime fan of the show, I’d love to see Kiefer Sutherland back in what amounted to his best role.
