24 star Kiefer Sutherland, who we learned last week has been having a good time in the UK lately, has revealed that the script for the planned big screen adaptation of 24 has already been completed and may go into production not long after the TV series ends its run next month. According to Sutherland, he has yet to read the script but seems anxious to right down to work on the film’s production:

“24: The Movie” is likely to come out not long after the TV series ends in the eighth season. Kiefer Sutherland, who plays major character Jack Bauer in the FOX show and is set to reprise the role in the big screen version, has just confirmed at an exclusive BAFTA Q&A that the screenplay for the movie is ready. According to the actor, screenwriter Billy Ray has finished writing the script a couple of weeks ago. Sutherland has not read it but he plans to do it when he returns to the United States. About the idea of the storyline, it has been mentioned that the film may take the special agent from Eastern Europe to England during the course of movie. Sutherland has also revealed that the crisis faced by his character doesn’t necessarily deal with a bomb. “It can be something personal that people understand,” he stated as quoted by IGN. It has not been known when the production for the movie will begin. No director has been tapped to work on the upcoming project while The 20th Century Fox has not picked up a release date. In the meantime, Kiefer Sutherland has wrapped shooting for the last episode of “24″ TV series last week. FOX will air the two-hour series finale on May 24.

Okay, so just because the script has been written it doesn’t mean that 24: The Movie will immediately go into production … as the report above states, there are still a few very big logistics (like finding a director) that need to happen before we can start counting our chickens. That being said, considering that it was just announced that the TV series is ending and there’s already word that a movie script is complete, we may be seeing this film sooner than expected. I am all for a 24 movie because I think the characters will really flourish on the big screen. But, in all honesty, I’d much prefer to wait a bit longer to ensure that a good movie gets made rather than a quick movie gets released. It seems weird to think of Jack Bauer running all over Europe in order to save the world but it does feel like the right next step. Considering how quickly things appear to be moving on the 24 film project, I wouldn’t be surprised if actual production got underway late this year or early next year … but I’m still not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

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