“Unnecessary, Pointless, and Stupid,” or My tagline for the upcoming Donnie Darko sequel

Earlier today, it was announced that a British company named Velvet Octopus is producing a film entitled S. Darko, which will be a sequel to the cult film Donnie Darko. Because we all know that Donnie Darko needed a sequel. Here’s a brief synopsis:

The story picks up seven years after the first film (and Donnie’s death) when little sister Samantha Darko (Editor’s Note: Daveigh Chase will reprising her role of Samantha from the first film) and her best friend Corey are now 18 and on a roadtrip to Los Angeles when they are plagued by bizarre visions.

In a world that is dominated by pointless sequels and franchises, this one seems especially pointless. Donnie Darko, while not flawless, was such a perfectly realized film, with such a unique little world all its own, that there’s absolutely no need for any sort of continuation of its storyline. The folks behind S. Darko, including director Chris Fisher, can claim all they want that they’re admirers of Richard Kelly’s film, but I don’t see any admiration here — just the desire to cash in on an imaginative film because apparently, they can’t think of anything creative on their own.

It’s worth nothing that Richard Kelly is not associated with the sequel in any way. One can only hope that S. Darko will be a direct-to-video affair that occupies the slightest amount of shelf-space at your local Blockbuster, and for only a week or two at that.

Enjoy reading Opus? Want to support my writing? Become a subscriber for just $5/month or $50/year.
Subscribe Today
Return to the Opus homepage