Donnie Darko: Director Richard Kelly plans a sequel – with a major time jump
A sequel in book form will be published beforehand
"Donnie Darko" director Richard Kelly will be continuing his 2001 cult classic – albeit in a rather surprising way at first. One thing is already certain: a book will be published later this year that will continue the story. But that's just the beginning. Next, Kelly wants the book to be adapted into an animated film. After that, he plans to expand the story further: as a live-action film, according to Variety.
But first things first. The original film was set in 1988 and told the story of the eponymous Donnie Darko (played by Jake Gyllenhaal). In this science-fiction film, the teenager narrowly escapes a mysterious accident and begins having visions of a strange figure in a rabbit costume who, unfortunately, doesn't have good news for him: supposedly, the world is going to end in 28 days. You can get a sense of "Donnie Darko" from the trailer:
The sequel to Donnie Darko is said to feature a major time jump
Richard Kelly's upcoming book, which is about 800 pages long, will be published in the fourth quarter of this year under the title "The Philosophy of Time Travel." In terms of content, it picks up where the film's story left off. The events describe what happened in the 14 months following the end of "Donnie Darko." Kelly wrote the book over the course of the last ten years, and it is intended to be just the first step toward new films.
As previously mentioned, the author and director is toying with the idea of turning the book into an animated film. And that's where things get especially exciting for fans of the original film. If everything goes according to plan, Kelly intends to make a live-action film set 28 years after the original events. Whether this will actually happen remains to be seen at this point. A possible return of the original cast is also still a long way off. However, Kelly emphasizes to Variety that he has "kept in touch with all the cast over the years." He adds:
"In theory, should it happen, there would be a gigantic time jump of 28 years or so, and where the actors, should they want to play their roles live and in the flesh, that would be wonderful, too. So we'll see what happens."
The story kept getting bigger
Kelly explains why he decided to write a novel first as a way to continue the "Donnie Darko" story as follows:
"I think what I realized as the story got bigger and bigger and bigger is that I needed to go back in time and away from the sequel, and tell the story of what happens in the 14 months [after the end of the original film], because there's so much essential information in that section of the sequel. And in my mind, I was like, why don't I actually put together a novel and just publish that part of the sequel as a novel, so that I can release it into the world, and that will set the ship on its voyage to wherever this goes. And so this, in my mind, is the final puzzle piece to launching this sequel and to see what becomes of it."
Things have been quiet around director Richard Kelly in recent years. "Donnie Darko" flopped at the box office upon its release, but word eventually spread and it became a celebrated cult film. With his subsequent films, "Southland Tales" and "The Box" – which, like "Donnie Darko", are anything but ordinary – Kelly still didn't have much luck at the box office. This makes the director's ambitious plans for "Donnie Darko" all the more exciting. With that film, he once created an unusual portrait of a teenager that captivated audiences with, among other things, its mysterious story, strong cast, and a fantastic soundtrack. The cover version of the Tears for Fears classic "Mad World" by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules remains unforgettable. In addition to lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal, the star-studded cast also included Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, and Noah Wyle.