'24: Live Another Day' Spinoff Moving Forward Without Kiefer Sutherland; Will Jack Bauer Ever Return To The Franchise?

Is it possible to have a season of “24” without Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland)? Fox is going to find out as it has confirmed development on another limited series spinoff of the show that, as of now, doesn’t feature the titular character.

Series producer Howard Gordon confirmed to TV Line that that the network is moving forward with a script for a real-time terrorist hunting drama within the “24” mythos that won’t include Sutherland. However, fans of the nail-biting action and drama in the series’ recent return will not be disappointed with the content. “24: Live Another Day” writers Manny Coto and Evan Katz are penning the spinoff, which will also run as a limited series with potential for expansion in the event it’s successful.

“The possibility is always there for Jack,” Gordon told YahooTV in May. “There’s an open door, basically, but I think both Kiefer and we, I think correctly, felt that this character needed a little bit of a break. We really believe that real-time concept is just a really cool narrative engine, so they’re telling a story, Evan and Manny, that I think is in the tradition of '24.'”

While the success of “Live Another Day” proved that more of the real-time action is still a viable concept for a series, Sutherland expressed his desire months ago to put Bauer on ice for a little while.

“Me, I don’t see going back to it. We had set out to do 12 episodes to end the show and deal with some of the past history of the show. It [“24: Live Another Day”] was also an irresistible opportunity to go shoot in England. So for all of those reasons it made sense to do that last season,” the 48-year-old actor told the Telegraph. “But I think I said the same thing at the end of Season 8, so I would hate to be held to that.”

The new lead of “24” will likely be a younger man in his twenties alongside an older, more seasoned female agent. However, it won’t be Yvonne Strahovski as Kate Morgan, despite what many fans were surely hoping for. While the spinoff will usher in a new age of heroes, CinemaBlend notes that there’s nothing stopping characters like Morgan or even Bauer from returning as guest stars.

What do you think, can there be a “24” without Jack Bauer? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @Tyler McCarthy.