Kiefer Sutherland has confirmed that he will not star in the next season of 24, with the show set to continue without his character Jack Bauer.
It was rumoured that Sutherland's final outing as Bauer would be in the limited run series 24: Live Another Day and Fox network chairman Gary Newman has now confirmed that the star will not appear in the next iteration of the hit show.
Kiefer Sutherland at San Diego Comic-Con
"Obviously we would love to have Kiefer and we went to him first," Newman explained. "It isn't something he wants to do at this point, but he encouraged us to continue and look for a way to bring the show back."
It is likely the next season of 24 will feature a host of new characters with Newman telling press at the Fox press tour, "Honestly I don't know whether we'll see any old characters or not. It would not surprise me if it's a total reset in terms of the characters."
Newman previously teased a version of the show without Sutherland and his on-screen alter-ego Jack Bauer, saying it could be exciting to see how 24 would go without them, "If [Sutherland] wants to, he'll be in it and it will be built around him. That would by far be our preference.
"I think the idea of real-time is a powerful franchise. Rebooting 24 in another way, with a different character, is actually an exciting re-imagining."
