Richard Kelly plans multi-film 'Donnie Darko' sequel franchise, starting with 800-page novel

Richard Kelly plans multiple 'Donnie Darko' film sequels, he told Variety on 25 August 2026. The first step is 'The Philosophy of Time Travel,' an 800-page novel out 15 December 2026 from Range Literary Publishing, picking up after the 2001 film's ending. Kelly intends to adapt it as an animated or motion-capture film, then a live-action project set 28 years later. No financier or studio is attached.