After the massive success of “Donnie Darko,” filmmaker Richard Kelly’s ambitious follow-up “Southland Tales” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was met with savage reviews.

Kelly’s film, which starred a young Dwayne Johnson alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott and Justin Timberlake, was then drastically re-cut before hitting cinemas in late 2007 where it bombed.

Even so, the film hasn’t been forgotten and remains a point of discussion in a way Kelly’s only subsequent film, 2009’s “The Box,” has not. Recently, Kelly live-tweeted the movie as part of a viewing party on the streaming platform MUBI and in the process dropped some reveals on Twitter.

First up, he and his team have completed 4K restorations of both the 145 minute theatrical and 158 minute Cannes versions, though the Cannes cut is said to be rough with many unfinished visual effects. As a result it “will be released for posterity”. Kelly also says his focus has been on “preparing the epic Version 3.0 of #SouthlandTales”. Specifically that means a prequel film:

“#SouthlandTales is a six-chapter saga. The existing film covers the second half. I wrote graphic novels with @brettweldele that cover the first three chapters. I have completed an ambitious new script that uses the novels as a blueprint for an ambitious new film. My *hope* is to direct a new #SouthlandTales prequel film using a hybrid of animation and live-action. This new film could be released in tandem with an expanded version of the existing film with significant new content. If it happens… the animated portion of the new film would cover the 2008 events over the three days beginning on June 30th, when Boxer Santaros wakes up in the Nevada desert w/ amnesia… and then embarks on a journey through Las Vegas before returning to LA. The live action sections of the new film would bring to life sequences from THE POWER, the bonkers screenplay within-the-film written by Boxer Santaros and Krysta Now. THE POWER takes place in the year 2024 and has significant importance to the story told in 2008. The evolution of VFX and animation techniques will *hopefully* allow the complete vision of #SouthlandTales to see the light of day. The script is ready and the assets secured. Thank you to everyone who has supported this film – it will always be my most beloved.”

Kelly previously talked about an earlier version of this with Kevin Smith on a podcast a decade ago, and showed the Cannes cut of “Southland Tales” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last year where he apparently suggested he was having discussions with an unnamed studio to potentially be the home for his vision.

Source: The Film Stage