Richard Kelly to release 800-page Donnie Darko sequel book, with more sequels planned

Richard Kelly, writer-director of Donnie Darko, has written an 800-page book titled The Philosophy Of Time Travel, set 14 months after the film's events, to be released for the film's 25th anniversary. The book is the first part of a planned sequel series, including an animated adaptation and a live-action film set 28 years later. Kelly hopes to reunite the original cast for the live-action sequel, though he acknowledges the project's scale and cost are challenges.

Kelly’s book is framed as a found-document narrative, picking up 14 months after the film’s climax and exploring how the surviving characters process their shared “tangent universe” experience through a support group that morphs into a cult. The project is designed as a trilogy of sorts: the book, an animated motion-capture adaptation, and a live-action film set 28 years later. Kelly spent a decade writing the tome, timed for the film’s 25th anniversary this fall. He has floated the possibility of reuniting original stars like Jake Gyllenhaal and Drew Barrymore, but acknowledges the sequel’s “gigantic scale” and cost are hurdles, leaving the door open for new characters and digital technology if the cast declines.