Kiefer Sutherland Optimistic About '24' Movie: "We Start Shooting Hopefully By Next December Or January'

24 ended a long run on television last year, but for the past few months there has been persistent word that the characters might hit the big screen in a 24 movie. Last we heard, however, the script by Billy Ray had been rejected, leaving us uncertain about whether the movie was dead or not. Kiefer Sutherland certainly doesn't think it is dead, however. He says the script is actively being worked on, and hopes to be shooting by this time next year.

In an interview tonight on Extra, the actor says of the 24 film, "we won't start shooting for about eight months."

When a mention is made that the script has been changing, Mr. Sutherland says,

And I think it will up until the day we start shooting, and probably from that point forward, too. It's a very difficult thing to take something that you've done for eight years, almost 200 episodes, and try and find a story that's going to be unique and yet service the history of the show as well. That is to be expected. So we start shooting hopefully by next December or January.

So this isn't so much a hard and fast "yes, the movie is 100% happening" as it is a status update. There is a script in the works and it isn't dead yet. But don't necessarily take those dates (note he gives two different date ranges) as written in stone.

There had also been rumors of Tony Scott's involvement, but there's no mention of the producer/director here. So we can't offer an update on that front, either.

Thanks to Sean for the tip.