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Post updated: 2/02/09

Second update, with official trailer: 2/28/09

Third update, with Richard Kelly’s official statement regarding S. Darko: 3/5/09

Fourth update – DVD release date pushed back to May 12; new subtitle: 3/16/09

Fifth update – my review of S. Darko 5/14/09

Yes, it’s true, there is a Donnie Darko sequel in the making, though Richard Kelly, the writer/director of the original, has nothing to do with it, nor will profit from it, this according to reports published by Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter. It’s called S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale and focuses on Donnie’s younger sister, Samantha, (played by Daveigh Chase, the only returning original cast member), and takes place seven years after the original movie. Samantha and her best friend Corey, according to the IMDB summary, “are now 18 and on a roadtrip to Los Angeles when they are plagued by bizarre visions.” Since Donnie Darko was one of the most self-contained movies I’ve ever seen, S. Darko has to be one of the least necessary sequels imaginable, but since it’s already gone into production back in mid-May, it’s on its way, for better or worse. Though there’s already a Facebook group advocating a boycott of the movie, this only serves to give the movie some free, albeit negative publicity, and any publicity is good publicity, especially for projects like S. Darko. I’m not wild about the prospect of a sequel, but I’m not ready for a boycott, either, as there’s nothing really to boycott until the movie’s finished and being released. Will I want to see it then? Probably not, but the poster’s kinda neat:
“What Would You Do If You Knew The Future?” I guess most Donnie Darko fans feel they already know the future with this one, that it’s going to suck, that is.

I checked at the Internet Movie Database for more information about S. Darko, and came across an IMDB member offering up first footage of the movie here: S. Darko.

Yeah, I know, they’re going for a different look there, but hey, it is surreal, isn’t it?

UPDATE (2/02/09): S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale, directed by Chris Fisher from a screenplay by Nathan Atkins, is going straight to DVD. Its U.S. release date is May 12 (formerly April 28). For more details (albeit with original release date), you can go to Fangoria and/or Bloody Disgusting.com.

Below is the first official photo released by the filmmakers, showing Chase as Samantha Darko:

UPDATE (2/28/09): An official trailer for S. Darko is now posted at the movie’s site. It’s not the one that begins, “The Cult Classic…Continues,” which a fan-made fake:

S. Darko official site: http://www.sdarko.com/

Below is a slightly lower resolution version of the trailer:

“There are forces at work here. Something evil.”

That’s where the trailer really lost me, by the way. If there was any hope in my heart at all that this movie could be good, I think this trailer pretty much wiped it away. It looks like yet another direct-to-video sequel to The Prophecy, not a sequel to Donnie Darko.

Richard Kelly’s statement regarding S. Darko:

“To set the record straight, here’s a few facts I’d like to share with you all — I haven’t read this script. I have absolutely no involvement with this production, nor will I ever be involved.

“I have no control over the rights from our original film, and neither I, nor my producing partner Sean McKittrick stand to make any money from this film.”

(Source: IGN Movies)

S. Darko review

And finally my review, which I felt compelled to do since so many people have read this article since I first posted it last year. Thanks for reading!