Jack Bauer is back

'24' will be on screens until 2009, while Kiefer Sutherland claims the film could shoot next summer.

Apr 10 2006

Kiefer Sutherland has signed up for a further three years on TV thriller '24', while the actor has hinted that a '24' film could go into production next summer.

The eight-figure deal ties Sutherland to the show until 2009 and also allows him to establish a television production company at the 20th Century Fox lot.

The high-concept show is experiencing some of its best ever ratings at the moment, and Sutherland says that's down to the scripts. 'The writers keep managing to turn the show in on itself, coming up with something that's well thought-out and miraculous.'

He adds that the proposed '24' film won't go into production during the show's summer hiatus due to time constraints.

'It was really [producers] Joel [Surnow] and Bob [Cochran] and Howard [Gordon] realising that if we were going to squeeze it in during the break, we would have been rushing it' he explains. 'If we were going to do it, we would do it next summer. It's still a big 'if'. We would not go forward unless we thought we could do it right.'

Before then, Sutherland will be seen in political thriller 'The Sentinel' which hits UK screens on September 8, and heard in animated comedy 'The Wild', which is out on May 26.