Howard Gordon who also wrote the two-hour episode said now that Jack Bauer is a fugitive in his own country, 'the movie has to defer to the end of the TV show, not the other way around'.
- May 25, 2010
AceShowbiz - The producers of "24" were serious when they said they would not give Jack Bauer a happy ending. The May 24 finale saw the special agent fleeing from the country he served for years and being branded a fugitive.
The two-hour event put Bauer in a situation where he's inching closer to assassinate the Russian leader conspiring to sabotage the peace agreement. U.S. President Taylor stopped Bauer from doing so and advised him to get out of the country because not only the Russians will hunt him down if he does, but the States too.
Thus, the teary ending saw Bauer entrusting his best friend Chloe in taking care of Kim and his granddaughter Terri. Chloe, drenched in tears, let him go, told Cole and Arlo to swear in secrecy and closed the series with "Whatever happened here didn't happen. Understand? Shut it down."
In an interview after the finale has aired, exec producer Howard Gordon talked to THR about where he thought Bauer is heading. He said, "In my mind, Jack is cut free but again he is a nomad. He's a man without a country. The very country that he has served and obviously sacrificed everything for has basically spit him out again and he is a fugitive."
The end of the series is not the last of Jack Bauer's adventure. It has been pitched to be a feature film where Gordon will again become the producer. Giving an update to the progress, Gordon said, "Another draft is being written (by screenwriter Billy Ray). I don't have a timetable. I think sooner rather than later is a good idea, but the people at Fox have their own timetable."
He additionally confirmed to EW that it won't be a prequel. "The movie has to defer to the end of the TV show, not the other way around," he continued.
