UPDATE: 24 Movie On Hold

UPDATE (3/15/11):  Production for the film adaption of the hit television show 24 has been put on hold, a Fox spokesman confirmed.

“We’re still working on a script, and hope to make [it] when Kiefer next has time,” said the spokesman. “But this all came down to timing, and seven weeks is not enough time to prep a movie like this.”

Sutherland, who has made hundreds of millions of dollars for the network, rejected the $2 million offer to return as Jack Bauer.  The actor apparently feels dissed and wants a minimum of $5 million.

The actor’s pay grade doesn’t seem to be the only issue effecting the film’s production.  The studio announced the film’s budget to be only $30 million, much less than the $40 million Sutherland  had requested.

A new production schedule has yet to be announced.

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Originally reported 3/8/11:

Kiefer Sutherland has been a busy man since the series finale of 24 in May 2010 with his new show Touch on Fox.  This hectic schedule is what seems to be causing the delay of his return as Jack Bauer in the film adaptation of 24.

“We have a fantastic script that I’m very excited about,” Sutherland told the UK’s DigitalSpy.com. “We have phenomenal filmmakers that are interested in working with us, as well.”

“It’s a question of trying to put that package together in time, for us to do it in the break between when Touch finishes and when we would potentially start again,” he explained.

There is a possibility that filming could begin as early as April 2012 if his schedule can line up.

The movie, written by Billy Ray (State of Play) with re-writes by Mark Bomback (Wolverine), is said to deviate from 24’s traditional “real time” setup.

“It’s going to be a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day, so we were not going to be restrained by the real-time aspect of the TV show,” Sutherland told Britain’s Sky magazine. “With the TV show we always had to have the crisis come to us because we couldn’t move.”