Much loved real time show 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland, has come under some criticism from fans about the slow progress to release a film version. In fact, a script was only penned in February 2010 by Billy Ray, and unfortunately for fans of the show it was dismissed by Fox. Despite these obvious setbacks however, front man and producer Kiefer Sutherland has remained optimistic about the project and says it could be due for release in 2012. Could this just be a little over optimistic? We’ll have to wait and see on that one, but what is sure is that 24 fans will have received some encouragement from this news. What won’t encourage them however is that the film has neither a script nor a confirmed director.
Despite the bleak outlook for Sutherland’s prediction of a 2012 release, EW have revealed a few rumours that are surrounding any possibility of a film. Sutherland reportedly revealed that Fox had been in talks with Tony Scott, director of Man On Fire, to direct the film. Again however, this may just be a case of Sutherland trying to create some excitement around the film. In any case, a 24 film directed by Tony Scott sounds exciting enough to warrant many people going to watch. I’m sure they will too. But will the movie manage to be big in Britain, a country where the show is hidden away among an endless list of Sky channels? I’m not too convinced that it will. Furthermore, due to the long wait for any sign of a film, will fans still be as interested as they were, say a couple of years ago? It sounds as if Sutherland is trying to build up excitement based solely on rumour and optimism, something which later he may regret. I’m remaining stoutly pessimistic over this one.
Originally published March 22, 2011. Updated April 10, 2018.
