The story of director Richard Kelly is one of breakout talent, high expectations, a colossal crash and a fading away from the spotlight. Sixteen years ago this month, the filmmaker became the toast of Sundance with “Donnie Darko,” and by the end of 2001, Hollywood was his oyster. Kelly used his cachet to make “Southland Tales,” a sprawling, star-studded misfire that went into the Cannes Film Festival for its big premiere and never recovered from the reviews. Kelly would make one more feature, the forgettable 2009 horror “The Box,” and he’s since stayed out of the limelight. But he could be plotting a major return.
“Donnie Darko” is currently getting a major revival across the pond, hitting the big screen in a new restoration, and receiving a lavish Blu-ray release from Arrow Video. And chatting with HMV, Kelly teased that he could be returning with another “Donnie Darko” movie set in same universe as his most famous film.
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“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,” he said.
As you can tell, he’s being very cautious, and rightfully so. Kelly already received blowback for his director’s-cut version of the movie (many prefer the original theatrical cut), and “Donnie Darko” is still his greatest legacy, so of course, he wants to make sure he does it right. (And while there is 2009’s “S. Darko,” that sequel had zero involvement from Kelly). As for his next movie? He isn’t saying just yet, but he could be shooting something before the year is out.
“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,” he said.
So, big things on the horizon from Kelly, who seems eager to bounce back into directing as soon as he can. [via Bloody Disgusting]
