Audiences aren’t the only ones hopeful for a possible 24 revival as producer Jon Cassar also expresses his interest in the show coming back. Created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, the action drama series revolved around Jack Bauer, an agent working for the Counter Terrorist Unit as he finds himself pitted against a variety of terrorist threats. The series was memorable for being set within 24 consecutive hours, with each episode chronicling Jack’s missions in real time, as well as those involved in the situations, including various Presidents, other CTU agents and his daughter, Kim.
Kiefer Sutherland led the cast of 24 as Jack alongside Sarah Clarke, Elisha Cuthbert, Dennis Haysbert, Carlos Bernard, Penny Johnson Jerald, Xander Berkeley and Mary Lynn Rajskub. Running for eight seasons on Fox, the series scored generally favorable reviews from critics for its fast pace, intricate plots and the performances of its cast, namely Sutherland, who won two Emmys and one Golden Globe, while some criticism was directed towards the show’s perceived Islamophobia and glorification of torture. With the show’s ongoing popularity and open-ended story, fans of the series have remained hopeful for a 24 revival and one of the behind-the-scenes creatives are offering their thoughts on its possible return.
While speaking exclusively with Screen Rant to discuss The Orville season 3, Jon Cassar addressed the chances of a possible 24 revival. Cassar, who was an executive producer on the show and directed multiple episodes, confirmed knowing of talks having gone on for a revival for years, with various attempts failing, while noting Sutherland’s busy schedule as a major factor for it coming to fruition. See what Cassar shared below:
“They’ve been talking about it for years, it’s a tough one. It’s how do you come back and how do you come up with another story? I know they’ve tried many times, I’ve seen many scripts of different versions. There was even a movie version, there was one version that was supposed to be — the last Die Hard you saw was supposed to be a 24 and John McClane crossover. Everything has been thrown at the wall to see if they can come up with anything, but no one’s really come up with enough of a story to make it happen. And then, it’s the appetite of Fox, who owns it, so it’s going to be them.
If they get Kiefer back, I just did Kiefer’s new show Rabbit Hole, which is kind of exciting, it’s a new show for Paramount+, I believe, so I just did an episode of that up in Toronto. He’s got other projects going and then he’s got his touring, so that’s a tough one to work around. Because when he does his European tours, he’s gone for months, so there’s a lot of factors. It could happen, it’d be great if it happened, everyone’s always asking me and it’s like, ‘I’ll know when you know, quite honestly, I’m the last guy that knows.’ The whole thing happens and then they call me and say, ‘Do you want to direct it?’ So I’m gonna know the same time you do, you’ll probably know before me. [Chuckles]”
Word of a possible 24 revival has swirled for years since the 2014 limited series Live Another Day ended with Sutherland’s Jack Bauer turning himself over to the Russians in exchange for Chloe’s freedom, leaving the fate of his character once again unknown after season 8 ended with Jack going on the run from both the US and Russian governments. Sutherland has gone back and forth on returning for a possible 24 revival, though most recently expressed his desire to come back as he misses the “incredible experience” of making the show and showing his interest in concluding his story. The Emmy winner has also noted that should a 24 revival be put together with Bauer returning, it would need to be soon due to his age affecting his ability to perform the action sequences required of the series.
While Cassar’s comments on a possible 24 revival may not offer much concrete information on it coming to be, his note that he does know of the studio having talked about it for years should prove a hopeful sign that Bauer could return in the near future. The sole attempt at a spinoff, 2017’s 24: Legacy, was memorably met with mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike and was canceled after just one season, leaving many hopeful that Fox’s announced plans this past November for a new 24 incarnation will return to its original beloved character. Until such time comes to be, audiences can revisit the entirety of 24 streaming on Hulu now.
