While he arrived on the scene to near-universal acclaim with Donnie Darko, writer/director Richard Kelly has never quite lived up to the expectations that his ferociously original debut generated. Not that originality was ever in short supply in his follow-up movies Southland Tales and The Box. They’re jam-packed with ideas equal to anything in Darko. The former so much so, it needed three graphic novels to set up the story! One aspect both lacked, however, was Donnie Darko’s disciplined structure and ultimate cohesion. (And Jake Gyllenhaal.) Both suffered at the box office, and while they have their fans, it’s unsurprising that Kelly would eventually be compelled to one day revisit his one true success. Has that day arrived…?
In an exclusive chat with comingsoon.net, the filmmaker revealed that there has been considerable progress on a project which is somehow connected to Donnie Darko: “There has been an enormous amount of work completed. I’m hopeful that we might get to explore that world in a very big and exciting way. But we’ll see what happens. But there has been a lot of work done.”
“A very big and exciting way” sure is an intriguing choice of words, and really does hint at either a TV series or film. Our money is on the former, but we’ll happily take either. It’s important to note that the previous sequel, 2009’s S. Darko, was a cynical and ultimately cruel cash-grab by its rights-owners made without any involvement from its creator. Is it any wonder Kelly’s been laying low since?
We’ll be keeping our ears to the ground for more information on this one, so stay tuned. In the meantime, it’s worth pointing out that Southland Tales just got the lavish Blu-ray treatment this week in time for its 15th anniversary courtesy of Arrow Video. Get your copy below for the opportunity to finally see the notorious, horribly-received (because it was unfinished!) 160-minute Cannes cut that played a large part in ensuring Southland Tales never got the attention it fully deserved on its actual release. Can we get a deluxe Domino release next, Arrow?
