Richard Kelly talks bigger, more ambitious Donnie Darko sequel

Last Updated on July 21, 2021

Not to give away my age to closely, but I first watched DONNIE DARKO way back in high school. Talk about the perfect time to see such a flick. It became a favorite of mine and throughout most of the years I worked at Blockbuster (there I go giving away my age again) the film always sat upon my sacred shelf of "Favorites." 

And then I listened to the director's commentary…

By no means do I dislike the film now-a-days, but Richard Kelly's commentary – which, if memory serves correctly, Kevin Smith sat in on – left me a little deflated. Like many of you, I had my own theories about the film. My own explanations. My own deep thoughts. And then the writer/director proceeded to give wholly different reasons and explanations to the proceedings. Well, not wholly different… but there were some pretty major discrepancies.

Bummer.

Anyway, DONNIE DARKO has just been reissued with a brand new restoration and writer/director Richard Kelly sat down with HMV to talk about his plans for a potential sequel…

“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. I need to get my next film out of the gate and then we can go back and look at it.”

Bigger, expensive, and more ambitious. Huh. Interesting. Being that supposedly Donnie was a "superhero" the whole movie, I wonder what Richard Kelly has in mind? Maybe Donnie will be brought back to life by a half-face Frank Langella and forced to press a button that may, or may not, release alien-water into a room filled with rich people, and then end with Donnie in a sing-along with Justin Timberlake?

Crazier things have happen. Like the entirety of SOUTHLAND TALES.