It's evident in Richard Kelly's work that he's one of the best idea men in the business.  But he's struggled to capitalize on the backdoor success of Donnie Darko: audiences were understandably baffled by Southland Tales, and notoriously slapped the more mainstream The Box with a grade "F" CinemaScore.  The admittedly uneven film didn't deserve that "F," but it's gotta be hard to rebound from such a negative reaction.

Yet, the resilient Kelly is busy setting up his next film, a Texas-set thriller titled Corpus Christi.  The story revolves around the strange friendship between a mentally unstable Iraq war veteran and his boss, the wealthy owner of a supermarket chain with political ambitions.  Variety suggests a more traditional narrative, but the publication seems to be responding to the lack of overt sci-fi.  With a mentally unstable lead character, I expect some grade "A" Kelly weirdness.

Kelly will produce with Darko Entertainment partner Sean McKittrick and Eli Roth.  They have begun the casting process, with an announcement expected by the end of March.  Corpus Christi is set to begin filming on location in July.