AceShowbiz -

After being stalled for a long time, "24: The Movie" heads back on track. According to TV Line, talks to bring Jack Bauer to the big screen have quietly gathered steam in recent weeks with producers at Imagine Entertainment "kicking around a new feature idea."

The movie is based on FOX's espionage drama series "24" starring Kiefer Sutherland as highly-skilled agent Bauer. It has been planned since the show ended in 2010. Numerous screenwriters like Billy Ray and Mark Bomback were brought in to take a crack at the adaptation and directors such as Tony Scott and Antoine Fuqua were linked to the project, but it apparently didn't work out.

When the feature film was stuck in development hell, FOX resurrected Bauer in a 12-episode limited series called "24: Live Another Day". The new series generated mostly positive reviews when it aired from May to July this year.

Sutherland has always been keen to reprise his role for a movie although the latest delay to get the movie going was reportedly caused by his dispute with FOX over budgetary and salary issues. "The film's an ongoing situation," he once said. "There's always an opportunity to do that."

FOX allegedly hasn't seen the latest pitch. In July this year, the studio's CEO Peter Rice hinted at planning to do another "24" miniseries. "I loved this year's season of 24," he said. "I've always been a fan. We haven't had a specific conversation about it coming back yet, but I'm sure we will in the future. It's a wonderful franchise. When you look at the show itself, it has many more stories to tell. I think we need to sit down and talk to the creators."