We're still none the wiser as to whether the currently-screening eighth season of 24 will be the last for the show, with a decision likely to be made in the next month or so as to the future of the television adventures of Jack Bauer. However, don't go expecting him to shuffle off his perch just yet, if the latest news out of 20th Century Fox is anything to go by.

For the studio is moving ahead with the movie version of 24 (can we do the gag about whether they're going to call it 2 again? No? Ah, fair enough). It's drafted in Billy Ray to write the script for the film, with Ray already having Flightplan and State Of Play to his name. Ray also wrote and directed the terrific feature Shattered Glass, if you're looking for a DVD recommendation for the coming weekend (his second film, Breach, has plenty to recommend it too).

But back to business. Kiefer Sutherland, reports Variety, is keen to see the series make the jump to the movies. It reports that the project is still very much in its infancy, and its fate lies in the aforementioned decision over the TV show. Apparently, were Fox to pass on 24 season 9, the producers would still have the option of trying to get it set up elsewhere, and until that process is complete, the film version of 24 isn't going anywhere.

Yet it is, at last, being written, and that's a solid step forward. We still think the only way to add tension back into the franchise would be to reduce the dependency on or kill off Jack Bauer. But that ain't going to happen...

Here's the Variety story...