And ‘no,’ this two-hour prequel movie is not the feature film idea that was in the works a few years back
LOCATION: Africa
THE SKINNY: Yes, it’s that time of the year – time for Kiefer Sutherland to give us the scoop on the latest season of 24 and with the new 24: EXILE two-hour movie airing in the fall as a prequel to Season 7, there was a lot to talk about.
“I saw trailer a second ago and it looked like a movie,” says Sutherland from this year’s Fox TCA press tour, who admitted he was very pleased with this movie which takes Jack Bauer to Africa for what will be the trigger point event leading into Season 7.
“It sets up the conflict that starts in the prequel and is carried all the way through Season 7,” says Sutherland. He also notes that the two-hour prequel will be two hours in real time and that many of the characters from the prequel will be appearing in Season 7.
Sutherland also praises Fox for deciding to hold off Season 7 for a full year, when they couldn’t finish the season before last year’s writer’s strike. A handful of episodes were complete, but airing the series in its entirety without breaks was ultimately Fox’s wishes which the actor feels was right on target.
“I think ultimately they made a courageous choice and correct one in waiting,” admits Sutherland. “We’ve always done better when we’ve able to air all 24 episodes continuously. They had to make a hard decision, but I think the whole television season was disrupted badly, that I don’t think the people who aired half a season won.”
As for the future of the series, Sutherland says 24 will continue as long as the audience dictates they should continue.
“I’ve said the audience will ultimately dictate when it’s time to stop,” adds Sutherland. “The great fear that an actor has in going into television for the very first time is that you’re playing the same character for five years, and I never realized what an arrogant idea it was until I actually had done it. There is so much room, especially with a show like 24, where each season impacts a character. From Season 1 to Season 2, I’m dealing with the death of my wife and all this weight starts to affect the character. And I’ I found that amazingly interesting and exciting to do. I’ve said it before, I think the idea of the show is so strong, that it can surpass my involvement and I think an audience will ultimately dictate that too.”
And of course the big question: Is this 24: EXILE movie the concept the producers had for the 24 feature film. Without hesitation, Sutherland’s answer says it all: “no.”
For fans, that’s a nice collective sigh of relief that the future for Jack Bauer on the big screen looks very bright indeed.
