Jack Bauer could be making his return in the not-too-distant future. Fox is reportedly in development on a 24 Prequel that will tell the origin story of the famed CTU agent, who was played by Kiefer Sutherland for eight seasons and was brought back for a single-season event series several years later. Should the series move forward, it will allow the network to further explore an already established character without having to try and court Sutherland back for another season, as the actor had already expressed that he's probably done playing the role.

The prequel series, which doesn't yet have a title, comes from showrunner Howard Gordon and creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran. Back in May, Fox TV CEO Dana Walden revealed that the trio was in development on a possible new incarnation of the acclaimed and successful drama. At the time, Walden only offered that "we are very excited about where the show would go." This proposed 24 revival would take a very different approach than last year's 24: Legacy, which saw Corey Hawkins as the show's new lead.

We reported in November 2017 that the network was also developing a potential new take on 24 that would be a female-led legal thriller that would totally reinvent the series. Interestingly enough, this prequel series doesn't necessarily mean that is off the table, as it's still in development alongside the new Jack Bauer origin take. Both shows are currently in the development stage and haven't been given the official green light by Fox. Though, it's possible that both shows could get the go-ahead, since they wouldn't be getting in the way of one another. What's clear is that Fox is very eager to find a way for the show to continue on in some form or another.

24 was pretty inventive within the television landscape when it debuted in 2001. The show takes place more or less in real time. Each season produced 24 episodes, with each episode covering a 60 minute period of time. The series ran for eight seasons initially from 2001 to 2010. The network took a break in 2008 for a two-hour TV movie, 24: Redemption. The show was revived by the network for a limited series in 2014 with 24: Live Another Day, which condensed the 24-hour action down to 12 episodes.

After another couple of years, 24: Legacy came to be, but without Jack Bauer at its center, the ratings were lower than the network had hoped for and it was canceled after just one season. As such, the idea of bringing back Bauer in some form is obviously attractive. NBC tried something similar with their Taken TV series, which provided a look at a younger version of Liam Neeson's character from the movies. The difference here being that the people that first brought Jack Bauer to life are directly involved. We'll have to see if this bears any fruit, though, the odds seem to be in favor of the project moving forward. This news comes to us courtesy of Deadline.