Clamouring for a Donnie Darko sequel? Not, of course, including that straight-to-DVD sequel S.Darko that should never have existed? Then you’re in luck, as director Richard Kelly recently talked to HMV about returning to the world inhabited by talking rabbits, time travel and Tears For Fears covers.
“I think there’s something much bigger and more ambitious to do in that universe. It’s big and expensive and I think there’s time to get to that. I want to make sure we’ve got the budget to do it justice and not to compromise anything. Another story in this world needs resources and we need to have that in place”.
This sounds great, but Kelly’s output since Darko has been a mixed bag. He followed it up five years later with the incredibly divisive – and, unsurprisingly, incredibly weird – Southland Tales, a film which can’t really be adequately described in a few lines. Just experience it.
Following that he helmed the Cameron Diaz-led thriller, The Box, which revolved around a box that, if opened, would grant the person $1 million but kill someone they don’t know. Much like his debut, these films were ambitious and filled to the brim with ideas, but never quite came together the way Donnie Darko did, with some even going as far to claim that Kelly is a one hit wonder.
Going back to the film that kicked started his career might not stop those critics claiming that Darko is his only success, but Kelly has other projects lined up anyway:
“I’ve been working on a lot of different projects. The trouble is they’re all very ambitious and expensive so they take a lot of time to get in place. We’re being very careful to set things up properly, but I’m planning to make up for lost time and make several movies back to back. It’s nice to be able to bring people back to where we started, but I plan to be back behind a camera in 2017”.
This is exciting news for cinephiles who love inventive cinema, perhaps not for people who think the world of Donnie Darko should be left alone. However in our modern cinematic climate, it’s possible the only way Kelly is able to get major funding is by attaching himself to an old project with a built in audience. Sad but true. Let’s just hope the Darko sequel has an abundance of Frank the bunny.
#Peace.Love.DonnieDarko
