“24″ Movie Depends on Fate of Series

Kiefer Sutherland doing his Jack Bauer thing.

EW is reporting that a big screen version of the TV series is very possible. In fact, Billy Ray, who wrote last year’s “State of Play,” has apparently pitched an idea for the film to the studio, and now is in talks to officially sign on for the project.

There is a problem, though, in that the fate of the TV series is uncertain. Ratings are way down this year, and if the Fox network decides to end it, the series creators will want to work on a series finale. This doesn’t seem like a problem to me; isn’t every season ender for this show essentially a season finale, since the seasons are only loosely connected?

EW isn’t clear on whether a decision to end the series would favor a big screen version or not (of course, they may be implying something and I’m just not getting it). If they decide to cancel the show because of low ratings, they may decide that that’s a signal that it’s not worth investing money into making a movie from the show. Or they may think that a big screen version would be a cost effective way of continuing the franchise; a 24 film every other year probably might not cost as much as a season of TV episodes, and it is a known brand with a decent following. As Kiefer Sutherland said to EW, a TV series can act as a trailer for a film.

I stopped watching “24″ a few years ago, so I can’t comment on its viability as a TV series. As a stand alone action movie, it probably would hold up better than many other TV series to film translations. If Sutherland doesn’t demand huge money, it could be a good deal.