Former 24 director and executive producer Jon Cassar has chimed in on the upcoming 24 reboot. Although he is not creatively involved in the new installment, he offers a level-headed take on the project, suggesting that fans give it a shot before writing it off.
I urge all of you to give #24Legacy a chance. Don't dismiss it yet. Its a new chapter. Its OK to love Jack Bauer & still try something new.
— Jon Cassar (@joncassar) January 26, 2016
#24Legacy For 10 years, 204 hours and a TV movie we gave you great storytelling & surprised you every week & I'm sure theres more to come.
— Jon Cassar (@joncassar) January 26, 2016
#24Legacy You should also know at this point I'm not involved with the reboot so I'm just as eager to see where Howard and the boys take it.
— Jon Cassar (@joncassar) January 26, 2016
#24Legacy And as far as characters you love – as long as they're still alive they can always appear in the 24 universe – or not – we'll see
— Jon Cassar (@joncassar) January 26, 2016
Also remember that very few non procedural dramas have lasted more than 204 hours. That's a lot of story for 1 character
— Jon Cassar (@joncassar) January 26, 2016
And for all those wondering what happened to Jack, there's at least a chance to find out with #24Legacy as opposed to no 24 ever again.
— Jon Cassar (@joncassar) January 26, 2016
95 Comments
Comments ClosedMary
January 26, 2016 at 5:21 pmAcer4666
January 26, 2016 at 6:39 pm24 Spoilers
January 26, 2016 at 7:59 pmI think the pilot process typically goes something like this: pilot scripts are finalized and ordered by the networks in January, casting process/wardrobe/table reads occur in February, filming during the month of March, editing/post production/screenings throughout April, and then networks make their final decisions in early May.
Marlon
January 26, 2016 at 8:38 pm24 Spoilers
January 26, 2016 at 9:45 pmAnd holding it back would also give them more time to promote it and find the perfect show to pair it up with.
Justin
January 26, 2016 at 10:00 pmMarlon
January 26, 2016 at 11:35 pmSo….2017 then!
Felipe Nogueira
January 27, 2016 at 9:30 pmJustin
January 26, 2016 at 10:01 pmXAM
January 26, 2016 at 11:50 pmSorry Chloe fans.
Mary
January 27, 2016 at 4:11 pmBill
January 27, 2016 at 5:10 amMary
January 27, 2016 at 4:34 pmFelipe Nogueira
January 27, 2016 at 10:35 pmEven if LAD was good and it was profitable for FOX, in some sense, it was the same all over again – in some aspects this is not a bad thing in my opinion at all, but maybe it is for an actor. I do think he is right that every time they bring Jack in 24 again, they could risk damaging the legacy of the show.
However, I do think Kiefer would play Jack Bauer on movie/theathers easily.
Mary
January 27, 2016 at 10:48 pmBrad
January 27, 2016 at 10:53 pmMary
January 27, 2016 at 11:38 pmFelipe Nogueira
January 30, 2016 at 8:36 amOne of the possible stories writers considered for season 7 is that Jack was a bad guy, but he’d working undercover. Kiefer and Jon Cassar didn’t like the idea – the audience would be waiting for the revealing moment. So this idea was discarded.
Season 7 became a mix of this idea, with the “bad guy” being Tony, and the very first and discarded one they had for season 7, which would have Jack in africa in the first episodes and time jump of 12h put him back in US/DC.
Brad
January 31, 2016 at 11:59 pmMary
February 1, 2016 at 3:55 pmAnyway, the point is that when Jack eventually re-emerges, the show has already told us that he’s an antagonist because even if he has some tricks up his sleeve, he’s stuck now working for the Russians to protect Chloe & his family. He’s compromised for the sake of family, which is the only way you could ever compromise Jack (just like how it’s the only way they ever could have compromised Tony.) Neither character is “evil”, so it’s not a muhahahahaha kind of bad guy– they’re not Victor Drazen, here. But Tony was and Jack presently is/will be when he returns an antagonist.
jufy
January 28, 2016 at 5:21 amMiau
January 27, 2016 at 5:13 amFelipe Nogueira
January 27, 2016 at 10:39 pmWith the info we have now, it shouldn’t be called Legacy, for the same reason above: new characters, what are the legacy?
Mary
January 27, 2016 at 10:58 pmTJ
January 28, 2016 at 1:12 amJCPrime
January 27, 2016 at 5:30 amshafagh
January 27, 2016 at 11:33 amjufy
January 28, 2016 at 5:25 amPat
January 27, 2016 at 12:15 pmMary
January 27, 2016 at 4:13 pmPat
January 27, 2016 at 4:20 pmMary
January 27, 2016 at 4:35 pmGevorg
January 27, 2016 at 2:39 pmJCPrime
January 27, 2016 at 3:34 pmMary
January 27, 2016 at 4:26 pmAmy P
January 27, 2016 at 3:56 pmMary
January 27, 2016 at 5:08 pmFelipe Nogueira
January 27, 2016 at 10:43 pmRenne’s death should not put Jack in the mood he was (it was cool to watch, I’m glad they did); it had to be Audrey in that time. That would make a lot of sense.
And then, they bring the show back, they bring Heller and Audrey back – and without any surprise, Audrey is killed just because Jack needs to suffer, especially in the way they did with Audrey goint to meet someone in a park, at open, knowing Cheng was involved… It doesnt make to much sense…
24Fan1980
January 27, 2016 at 6:03 pmhttp://deadline.com/2016/01/24-legacy-sets-miranda-otto-as-female-lead-1201691684/
TJ
January 28, 2016 at 1:17 amJohnGormleyJG
January 27, 2016 at 6:11 pmJustin Urciuoli
January 27, 2016 at 6:12 pmTran
January 27, 2016 at 6:42 pmBrad
January 27, 2016 at 9:25 pmMary
January 27, 2016 at 10:34 pmThe photos thing is interesting. That almost has to mean that one of the new characters has a personal connection to at least one of the old characters?
Mary Ann
January 27, 2016 at 10:35 pmjufy
January 28, 2016 at 5:31 amMary
January 28, 2016 at 3:21 pmMiau
January 29, 2016 at 4:34 amMary
February 1, 2016 at 4:06 pmJames Delora
January 28, 2016 at 10:39 amMiau
January 29, 2016 at 4:32 amMary
February 1, 2016 at 4:09 pmRonnieC6
January 28, 2016 at 11:29 amKiefer as Jack Bauer WAS, IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE 24. It is my favorite show ever. No Kiefer, no Jack, no Ronnie.
Mary
January 28, 2016 at 3:23 pmOption A: The character of Jack is in every episode but has subpar story similar to his last few seasons.
or
Option B: The character of Jack is not in every episode and takes a bit of a break, only to return with the strongest story he’s had since arguably either Days 5 or 7, possibly ever.
RonnieC6
January 28, 2016 at 5:06 pmMiau
January 29, 2016 at 4:29 amMary
February 1, 2016 at 4:19 pmI’m not disagreeing with you that Jack is the core of 24. I’m saying that what makes up “Jack” and his story is more than just Kiefer– if Jack is the root of all story and plot and characters in the show, then it’s impossible for Jack to simply disappear. It’s impossible for this to be a completely new show and it won’t be. There will be shades of Jack everywhere that inevitably lead to Jack himself at some point… and maybe, in the future, after his story is given a proper ending, characters who mirror him carrying on in his wake. I want Jack back on 24– I just want a really good story for him more than I need him to be in every episode and I disagree with you saying that having all the elements of 24 in an episode but no Jack means that it’s “not 24” because all that stuff you say is not Jack? Only exists because of Jack. The characters and stories and settings and everything else of 24 exist to mirror Jack’s character and his conflicts and stories. These new characters? They’re all going to mirror aspects of Jack. (You can see that *already*, just in what precious little we know about them so far.) I don’t think anyone’s taking the Jack out of 24 because there is no 24 without everything having roots in Jack. That doesn’t mean that Kiefer can’t have some episodes off, though, IMO.
Will Always Miss Jack
January 28, 2016 at 5:56 pmMiau
January 29, 2016 at 4:28 amMary
February 1, 2016 at 4:37 pmI respect you thinking that my feeling that they’ll bring back old characters is wishful thinking. I get where you’re coming from. I just think you’re wrong– there really is no such thing as a *completely* different direction to go in on 24. There hasn’t actually been anything new in the story since the end of Day 4. Days 1-4 are a complete character arc for Jack Bauer– it’s the whole story from beginning to end. Days 5-8? Are a mirror of Days 1-4. There is not a single thing in 5-8 that isn’t a mirror image of something in 1-4. (Seriously. You can have my thesis notes if you want lol.) Day 9 then becomes something even more fun– it’s the start of a mirror of the complete series of 1-8, mashing up seasons from the first half of the original series with seasons from the second half of the original series. It covers roughly 50% of plot and story from Days 1-8. The other 50%? That’ll be Day 10/Legacy S1/Whatever We’re Calling This. You can already see it forming just in what they’ve released to us already. There’s nothing new under the sun here, there’s just beautiful, endless mirrored stories. So, if that’s the case? It already proves that they’ll bring back characters for how can you mirror plots like Michelle returns on Day 4 or surprise! Mandy just popped up again! with an entirely new crop of characters? They can’t and they won’t. There will eventually be returning characters at some point in Legacy and where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so those characters returning means that at some point down the line– in Day 10 or on Day 11 or who knows when but at some point– there will be Jack. Sitting out the story now just means missing a chunk of stuff that will be relevant to Jack’s story when he comes back around.
Brad
February 3, 2016 at 11:01 pmMiau
January 29, 2016 at 4:30 amMary
February 1, 2016 at 4:48 pmBizarrely, Miau? I think there might be a chance they might let us have the both you’re talking about. I think the odds of Tony being in Legacy are about as high as the odds of me enjoying this chocolate cake I made– roughly 98% likely– and if that’s the case? Then he might need to chat with whoever is on the other end of the phone in Solitary. Since there’s a pretty solid chance that it’s Jack, then they could have different actors from the past voicing “Jack” for hours until Kiefer actually reappears and we see Jack again, thus keeping Jack actually in the story. It would be funny if, after all this complaining we’re all doing, we didn’t even have to go an episode before Jack was actually back in the story again.
Will Always Miss Jack
February 1, 2016 at 11:36 pmWe agree that on 24 all roads led to Jack. I also agree that the writers found themselves repeating many scenarios and tropes as the seasons went on because they burned through so many ideas through each season. But that’s where our agreement ends.
I believe that the writers couldn’t think of another arc for Jack that they haven’t already done and still stay true to who Jack is and therefore have decided to try and recreate the wheel with new characters that they can grow in a relatively new space, but still keeping the ticking clock, which I consider the shows biggest drawback at this point. Perhaps even have the freedom to kill off their new star if it seemed the right move for them.
Even if I agreed with your premise that everything about the new show in one way or another is a reference to Jack or, as you say, “shades of Jack” – or maybe more aptly, Jack’s “legacy,” as I stated previously it’s Jack himself and Kiefer’s portrayal of Jack that I watched all these years. Not Jack’s legacy. Not shades of Jack, or a show that may make reference to what came before and maybe pays homage to its predecessor(s) as subsequent Star Treks did to their predecessors.
It may be enough to whet your appetite to have Legacy characters mention original 24 characters just by talking about them in conversation or by inference of comparisons or shades that may or not be there between Legacy characters and 24 characters, but it’s not why I watched 24. And it won’t bring me back to Legacy.
If Jack were to ever return for a season or 2-hr event movie as the main character, I would come back and watch that season/movie. If that means I missed whatever new history or canon might have been established about Jack in the intervening year(s) of Legacy without him, I could always catch up on that back story on the Internet without having to sit through Legacy without Jack.
If Legacy chooses to end Jack’s story by telling us instead of showing us what has happened, also not interested. If Legacy chooses to bring Jack back for an episode, I’ll watch the one episode. But at this point, I’m not sure there is an ending that the writers/Kiefer could give Jack that would satisfy all loyal Jack fans. My favorite endings for Jack – and I know they’re not everyone’s – were the ones where he headed into the unknown alone. Sad, I know. And after all his sacrifices, in my heart it seemed unfair, and thematically and story telling wise seemed the most fitting and true. And on a selfish note, this also meant that I didn’t have to see him die and mourn his death. I could imagine for myself that Jack is still out there and maybe at some point he found some kind of peace and happiness — or not.
If the show actually shows Jack heading off into the sunset happy, as much as I might wish that for Jack, unless it was handled and crafted very, very carefully, I worry that it would come across as false or just plain sappy to a great character. But then again, unlike many fans, I can accept the present ending, knowing by the end that Jack found his humanity again, found himself again and ultimately sacrificed himself to save another – and perhaps even found a way to escape and is out there somewhere
as for belief that there is no new direction for the writers to go
Miau
January 29, 2016 at 4:31 amRob
January 28, 2016 at 5:08 pm24Fan1980
January 28, 2016 at 6:59 pmTed
January 30, 2016 at 12:30 pmMary
February 1, 2016 at 4:49 pmJack Ryan
February 1, 2016 at 11:25 pmI’ve been a fan since episode 1 season 1 and this has nothing to do with race. They’re manufacturing what they think is an appealing reboot and it’s NOT for the true fans.
Mary
February 2, 2016 at 3:32 pmXAM
February 3, 2016 at 11:46 amRonnieC6
February 4, 2016 at 12:19 pm"BethM
February 4, 2016 at 9:30 pmnot be particularly jazzed. The point is a popular character, who made the show is being replaced because of his race. it doesn’t matter if it is a black man being replaced because of race or a white man, it is just as wrong.
Brad
February 5, 2016 at 12:54 amThis is extremely arrogant and presumptuous of you.
BethM
February 4, 2016 at 9:17 pmBrad
February 5, 2016 at 12:52 amLuke
February 13, 2016 at 8:33 amMarlon
February 4, 2016 at 10:06 pmThere is so much speculation and ‘reading between the lines’ stuff happening which is what tends to happen when announcements are made. Don’t believe what you read as things will change.
I will say with some confidence that Jack Bauer and his story will be concluded if not in Legacy then perhaps in a different way.
Brad
February 5, 2016 at 12:55 amAlan
February 5, 2016 at 2:02 amDavid Nora
February 7, 2016 at 8:21 amRonnieC6
February 7, 2016 at 11:32 ama new show with a new theme while playing his/her original character. The new 24 is going to be the same as the original with all new characters and actors. I have been watching the new season of The X Files. It has been brought back after a prolonged absence with the original actors and characters. This is very cool. 24, more than any show of it’s kind in history, was first and foremost about Kiefer playing Jack Bauer. Even several US presidents spoke about Jack Bauer. 24 without Kiefer as Jack….forget about it.
Luke
February 13, 2016 at 8:26 amCatherine
February 9, 2016 at 12:10 pmAs far I’m concerned, I hated the 24 LAD ending so I’d have liked another Jack’s story to have a better closure for my favorite hero.
Luke
February 13, 2016 at 7:49 amthem ) . But Holby City and Casualty are both set in the same hospital .
Glenn
February 13, 2016 at 8:22 amXAM
February 14, 2016 at 6:13 pmThey’re trying to pull this diversity shit with James Bond too. And the only reason anyone can come up with for making Bond/any established white character black is… “It’s 2016”. Fuck off!
Josef
February 13, 2016 at 8:23 amTheo_Cui
February 21, 2016 at 5:22 amXAM
February 21, 2016 at 8:07 am24BIGGESTFAN
March 2, 2016 at 4:10 pmDavid Nora
March 11, 2016 at 7:07 pmFORMER24FAN
March 22, 2016 at 4:51 pm