Showrunner of Fox’s “24”, Howard Gordon, has revealed that Kiefer Sutherland wanted his character Jack Bauer to die.
“Kiefer actually wanted Bauer to die, and we had many conversations about it…many of us, including his agent, tried to talk him out of it, but then there was an edict from very high up [within Fox] and Jack Bauer is still alive,” Howard said, according to Variety.
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Gordon mentioned that Sutherland’s preference for having the character killed off was derived from the actor’s desires to “do something different” in addition to his “self-destructive personality,” according to Fox News.
Sutherland portrayed Jack Bauer during the show’s 8 season stint on Fox from 2001-2010, and more recently in the miniseries “24: Live Another Day” in 2014. Sutherland stated regarding his character, “’24’ is definitely over for me now. It’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given as an actor. But, it’s moving on without me.”
The show will be moving on without Sutherland as the new spin-off will star Straight Outta Compton actor Corey Hawkins. Hawkins’ character will be taking over as Bauer’s CTU successor. The new show titled “24: Legacy” is scheduled now for a 2017 release. While Kiefer Sutherland’s character will not be the star of the show, Howard Gordon revealed, “There’s always a chance he could come back.”
While there’s the chance Gordon could script the return of Jack Bauer, he did also mention, “We were all ready to move on. We all felt that character’s story has been told.”
Gordon also commented on how the Jack Bauer character has been influential on the work he’s done for other shows. In his work on Showtime drama ‘Homeland,’ Gordon stated, “Carrie Mathison [Claire Danes’ character in ‘Homeland’] was born out of Jack Bauer. So was Corey’s character. We are fishing in the same pond for stories. Jack Bauer is the atom.”
Do you think “24” should have killed off Kiefer Sutherland’s character Jack Bauer?
