Donnie Darko | Director Richard Kelly has written a sequel novel, wants to make multiple movies

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Director Richard Kelly has spent the past decade writing a novel that follows his 2001 film Donnie Darko – and wants to adapt it into multiple films. Timed to coincide with its 25th anniversary, the 2001 cult film Donnie Darko is getting a sequel – albeit in novel form. Writer-director Richard Kelly as spent the ... Donnie Darko | Director Richard Kelly has written a sequel novel, wants to make multiple movies

Director Richard Kelly has spent the past decade writing a novel that follows his 2001 film Donnie Darko – and wants to adapt it into multiple films.

Timed to coincide with its 25th anniversary, the 2001 cult film Donnie Darko is getting a sequel – albeit in novel form. Writer-director Richard Kelly as spent the past decade writing The Philosophy Of Time Travel – a voluminous expansion of his earlier movie that explores what happened after its events.

The book’s written from the perspective of Rose Darko – mother of the 2001 film’s protagonist – as she tries to uncover the mystery behind the jet engine that demolished part of her house. Parts of the story will also switch to Rose’s husband, Eddie (Holmes Osborne in the movie), and by the sounds of things, other familiar characters from their 1980s suburb will also feature.

“I think there’s a lot of surprises when you realise who the characters really are in the reality of Southern California, how they were drawn into this collective dream,” Kelly told Variety. “They were drawn into this thing called the tangent universe, this lunar month, this dream that lasted for 28 days that they collectively all experienced together, and they’re sort of all trying to piece it together. And they form this sort of support group that turns into a cult, in a way, and they all come together.”

Kelly eventually hopes to turn the novel into at least two film sequels. One would be animated, and directly continue the first movie’s story, which took place in 1988. The other would jump 28 years into the future and feature the original cast – assuming they can be tempted to return.

“I’ve kept in touch with all the cast over the years,” Kelly said. “I’m fairly certain they’re aware that I’ve been working on all this stuff, everything, and the sequel is so big that this book starts off in the 14 months after Donnie’s death, and then there is much more narrative material that I’ve been developing where the time jumps 28 years into the future, and there’s a lot of really exciting stuff that happens starting around 2015/2016 and onward after that, so that’s where I started with the sequel.”

Although he’s written scripts for other directors (such as Domino for the late Tony Scott), Kelly has only directed three films to date. Donnie Darko was his debut; the widely (and perhaps unfairly) derided Southland Tales followed it in 2006; then came 2009’s The Box, a feature-length adaptation of an old Twilight Zone episode.

Since then, he’s often struggled to secure financing for his projects – perhaps because his films have tended to be cult favourites rather than financial smashes.

Donnie Darko was a beguiling mix of indie coming-of-age drama, sci-fi and dreamlike surrealism, following troubled teenager Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he narrowly avoids death and becomes convinced, thanks to a mysterious figure in a rabbit costume, that the world is 28 days from ending.

With terrific supporting performances from McDonnell, Patrick Swayze and Beth Grant, a quotable script (“I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!) and a catchy soundtrack, it was a striking debut from Kelly. His film also refused to leave answer every question it posed, though the novel may – for better or worse – provide some belated answers.