Fox is officially developing a reboot of the action series "24." There will be an all-new cast and the lead role will be played by an African-American.

Entertainment Weekly reported that Kiefer Sutherland will no longer be returning for the remake. The star will be replaced by an African-American actor, whom producers have yet to name. There are also talks that Fox Television Chairman and CEO Dana Walden and Gary Newman are open to the possibility of a Latino to star in the project.

The executives mentioned that they wanted the lead role to be as different from Jack Bauer (Sutherland) as possible and are still undecided whether they would be taking in an African-American or Latino actor. They wanted the lead to be diverse, which is actually their initial effort in casting. They wanted the reboot to feel different and have some distinction from the original.

Fox ordered a pilot for "24: Legacy," which is a new starter for the series that includes several of the most memorable pieces in the original that premiered in 2001. The original series aired for nine seasons on Fox.

"The pilot will feature an all-new cast of characters and retain the real-time, pulse-pounding, fast-paced format with split screens and complex interweaving storylines, with each episode representing one hour of an eventful day," Fox was quoted by media as saying in a press release.

The reboot of "24" will focus on a military hero, named Eric Carter, who comes back to the United States not realizing that trouble from his former operation followed him home. He asks the Counter Terrorist Unit for protection and begins a mission to prevent the possible widest terrorist attack in the country.

The original producers will be coming back, namely, Howard Gordon, Evan Katz and Manny Coto. The pilot was set to film during the winter season and casting is still pending. Mic.com revealed that some fans were dismayed to learn that Sutherland will not be in the reboot, but the producers assured that there is a lot to look forward to.

There will be 12 episodes, Walden said, not 24 as the original series had. He said that at present, a 24-episode format would not be the right way to go. The lead character will also get some help from a female co-lead instead of taking on the huge mission alone. The story will be different in terms of the special ops groups that they are looking at and will have a contemporary feel regarding the potential to start new sleeper cells in the US and radicalizing Americans.