24 - The main antagonist of the movie will be cast very soon

At a press conference for the new Clint Eastwood movie (J Edgar), Brian Grazer (co-creator of Imagine Entertainment and producer of great series like 24, Arrested Development and Friday Night Lights) was asked a question about the 24 movie. Apparently it will happen, believe it or not :

“We're working on it. We're making the movie. We have a script, and the casting is going along great. We're about to start casting the main antagonist, the person who plays against Jack Bauer. We have a really great role to play against Kiefer. I hope to have it out in the first quarter of 2012".

Last we heard, Billy Ray (Breach, State of Play, Shattered Glasses) was the writer attached to the project. A year ago, his first draw didn't get an approval but he rewrote it and apparently it was better. So far, Tony Scott and Ron Howard have been rumored to direct the 24 movie, which we know nothing about except that it will depict another tough day in Jack Bauer's life, and it will most likely be set outside the US (which makes sense given how the series ended).

Having the picture released before March 2012 is extremely optimistic considering they don't have their main cast or an actual official greenlight from 20th Century Fox. Grazer probably meant 2013, but things are undergo, so that's cool, hopefully it'll stay true to the series and not be a random blockbuster, movie adaptations of famous TV shows have not always turned out great.

Source.

Who would you like to see in this movie ?

I'd like Martin Sheen as the president (I think he could pull this off, I don't know why), although we may not need to have the POTUS in this movie given that Jack is considered a traitor wanted for terrorism by the US governement (how ironic it that, considering he lost everything and everyone for his country... I love that ending and the way we left Jack, the movie better not screw that up).

As for the main antagonist, I'd love to have Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Jeff Bridges, Viggo Mortensen, Forest Whitaker or Michael Fassbender. Either of them would be perfect.

And I really hope the movie will include Mia Kirshner (Mandy !), one of the few major characters still alive that could easily fit in a 24 movie located abroad. She's an assassin, last time we saw her she got immunity for her crimes (including trying to kill president Palmer), she could easily be helping out Viggo Mortensen's character, for instance (how great would that be ?).

Also, no offense to Billy Ray (who wrote great thrillers) but having a former 24 alum to help writing the screenplay would be great, like David Fury or Howard Gordon. And there's no point in wishing for directors like Martin Scorcese, so I'll go down a more realistic road and hope that Stephen Hopkins will direct the film, he's familiar with the show, he's done a terrific job directing 12 episodes of season 1.

If a 24 movie has to be made, even if we have to lose the real time aspect (it's been told many times the movie would cover 24 hours, not just 2 hours like the season 7 prequel, Redemption), hopefully it'll get made by talented people, so that it's not just another action flick.