Jack Bauer's bad days are about to get longer, and a lot bigger.

Following a lengthy dose of behind-the-scenes speculation, 20th Century Fox has inked a deal with the creators of 24 to turn the fast-paced Fox series into a feature film.








Details haven't been hammered out yet but, according to Variety, the proposed movie won't be so hung up on the series' ominously ticking clock. Although it won't feature the show's real-time gimmick, the flick will try to retain the race-against-time flavor and action-packed travails of Kiefer Sutherland's character.

"It's something that we would like to shoot in between the sixth and the seventh season," Sutherland told E! Online TV columnist Kristin Veitch last month at the network upfronts in New York, when the idea of a 24 film was still a gleam in Fox's eye. "We would be able to travel a lot more, and show some different locations, and all of those things are exciting for us."

It's nice that he can maintain such a sunny outlook on exotic locales, considering the always-under-the-gun Jack appeared to be off to China at the end of season five for another bout of torture and suffering at the hands of international baddies.

Sutherland hasn't technically signed onto the film as yet, but he told E! Online that it was "absolutely" something he wanted to be a part of. The Golden Globe winner has a series contract that keeps him up in arms until at least 2009, so while Los Angeles--and the world!--are going to be in mortal danger at least three more times, Bauer will be thwarting the evildoers at every turn.

The film's plot will reportedly take off from wherever season six leaves off, but it won't be too intertwined with the series so that people who don't watch 24 regularly can't enjoy the big-screen version. Perhaps there's no need to worry about making the plot too involved--ratings for season five were up about 14 percent from the previous year with the action drama pulling in close to 14 million viewers a week.

Series creators Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow are expected to start cranking out a script later this summer. Showrunner Howard Gordon is also on board, and he, Cochran and Surnow will produce the pic with Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer.

This will not be the first time that 24 has changed screen size. Last year Fox pioneered the "mobisode" with 24: Conspiracy, a downsized spinoff tailored for cell phones. Yes, there were 24 installments. Episodes of 24 are also available for downloading from Apple's iTunes Music Store and via MySpace.com.

Another Fox show making its long-awaited big-screen debut is The Simpsons, slated for a summer 2007 release. A teaser featuring a scantily clad Homer hit theaters in March.

Let's just hope the studio doesn't try a similar tactic with Jack Bauer