Kiefer Sutherland has hinted that his iconic 24 character Jack Bauer might lose his good guy status for the next season.

The popular actor, fresh from an appearance at the Princess Diana Memorial Concert, told The Sun: "Bauer will be his own boss… he’s going to be on his own."

Explaining further the situation that sees the hero take a new direction for the upcoming season, Sutherland said: "At the end of the sixth season he’s tired, disillusioned with the government and doesn’t want anything more to do with the presidency."

One actor who apparently won’t be returning for the seventh season is James Morrison, who plays CTU Chief Bill Buchanan. He stated on his personal webpage that it is looking unlikely that he will return.

Jack Bauer is going to have to save the world on at least two more days, as Fox announced this morning that Kiefer Sutherland would return to the smash hit 24 for two additional seasons. The announcement of the renewal of 24 and the return of Kiefer Sutherland was kind of a prologue to the network's upfronts presentation tomorrow, where the network will announce their entire fall schedule. The sixth season of 24 ends Monday night with a two-hour finale, but Kiefer Sutherland and the rest of CTU will be back for at least a seventh and eighth season, carrying the hit action show into 2009.

Last year, 24 won more Emmy Awards than any show, taking home five, including Lead Actor for Kiefer Sutherland and Outstanding Drama Series. The sixth season has taken some serious flack and many feel that it represents a dip in quality, but not every day can be as good as the one before and 24 is unlikely to lose too many fans between day six and seven and even eight. Over five seasons, 24 has been nominated for 51 Emmys in all, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor for Kiefer Sutherland in every year that the show has been on. 24 has also been nominated for 11 Golden Globes, including five for Best Actor in a Television Drama, which Kiefer Sutherland won in season one.

It's hard to say who but Kiefer Sutherland will definitely come back for season seven of 24, which won't start until January. As any fan of the show can tell you, the rest of the cast could be expendable, but Elisha Cuthbert, Dennis Haysbert, and Mary Lynn Rajskub have all made their names on 24 and major stars like Powers Boothe and Peter MacNicol have stolen scenes this year.

In an unusual addendum to the announcement of the return of 24, Howard Gordon, executive producer/showrunner for the show, seemed to admit that season six has seen a bit of a dip, saying to The Hollywood Reporter, "We're re-creating the series. It is going to be a real-time thriller. Beyond that, it's an open book." He did tell the trade that he feels some of the assessments of 24 losing its creative footing were unfair, saying, "On balance, it was a very successful season." Gordon claims that the re-imagining, which will see the show move out of Los Angeles for one thing, has been in the works for a while.

EXPERIENCE:
Department of Defense, Washington DC – Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense
CTU – Director of Field Operations, Los Angeles Domestic Unit
CTU – Former Special Agent in Charge, Los Angeles Domestic Unit
Los Angeles PD - Special Weapons and Tactics

EDUCATION:
LASD - Basic SWAT School
Master of Science, Criminology and Law - University of California (Berkeley)
Bachelor of Arts, English Literature - University of California (Los Angeles)
Special Forces Operations Training Course

MILTARY:
US Army - Combat Applications Group,
Delta Force Counter Terrorist Group

PERSONAL:
Widowed
Daughter - Kimberly Bauer