The real-time TV thriller "24" is headed to the big screen under a deal between movie studio 20th Century Fox and the show's producers, trade paper Daily Variety said on Thursday.
The Hollywood publication said no deals are in place with the cast, although star Kiefer Sutherland -- an executive producer of the series -- has said he would like to reprise his role as sleep-deprived action hero Agent Jack Bauer in a feature version.
However, the paper said the "24" movie would likely abandon the TV show's distinctive real-time conceit, meaning that all the murder and mayhem will no longer be squeezed into one day. A rough plot outline has been drafted, but no details have been disclosed, it said.
Fox, a unit of News Corp., struck a deal with series creators Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, who will write the script, and executive producer Howard Gordon, who will work on the story, Daily Variety said. The feature could potentially shoot next spring and summer during the hiatus between season six and a likely seventh season of "24."
The critically acclaimed "24" series, which airs in the United States on News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting unit, saw ratings improve by 14 percent for the just-wrapped fifth season, with nearly 14 million viewers tuning in every week, the paper said.
I buy them, when they are on sale for 20, 30 bucks. I don't feel like renting all of them, plus, I can't stand a good series on TV, then missing episodes, here and there.