"24: Live Another Day" star Kiefer Sutherland would be left out in the new season? Showrunners have pitched a new story without Jack Bauer at the center of it.

During the Winter TCA Press Tour, Fox boss Dana Walden said that they were pitched a story by showrunners Evan Katz, Howard Gordon and Manny Coto of a story arc that might not include its star Kiefer Sutherland, said E! News.

"[Their pitch] was in the very origin stages and it could have gone either way. There was a point at which Jack Bauer could come in and fit very organically into their story or they were prepared to do something that would be the one installment without him," she said.

Dana Walden added that they haven't yet talked to Kiefer Sutherland about doing another "24: Live Another Day" season.

"Potentially he won't be in this installment. We're not sure yet," she added. "We're not that far along but I know he supports us doing more 24. We're not talking about continuing the show without him, we're talking about whether there's one installment that he's not in...I look at everyone that surrounded Kiefer in that last installment and I think it could work."

Fox boss Gary Newman, meanwhile, said that they are really bent on putting another season of "24: Live Another Day" as he said that putting another story out there is a constant focus for them.

An earlier report from TVLine claimed that Kiefer Sutherland is no longer interested in playing Jack Bauer again.

"We had set out to do 12 episodes [of Live Another Day] to end the show and deal with some of the past history of the show," he said. "It was also an irresistible opportunity to go shoot in England. So for all of those reasons it made sense to do that last season."

However, "24: Live Another Day" star Kiefer Sutherland said that he said the same thing at the end of season 8, so he might just be putting his foot in his mouth.