Although David Lynch died before he could bring his final script to the screen, his family hopes to share the work with his fans.
Following the honorary Oscar winner’s death at age 78 in January, his daughter Jennifer Lynch recently addressed the limited series, tentatively titled Unrecorded Night, which he was developing for Netflix in his final years.
“None of us ever tried to make his series in his place,” Jennifer told The Times. “We are considering offering that as a published piece, so that people can sit with his ideas. It would be very sad if people didn’t get to see it.”
After David Lynch died of cardiac arrest following an emphysema diagnosis, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that the Twin Peaks creator “came into Netflix to pitch a limited series, which we jumped at,” adding that he will “always wonder about what he had in mind for us with what would have been his last project.”
“It was a David Lynch production, so filled with mystery and risks but we wanted to go on this creative ride with this genius,” said Sarandos. “First Covid, then some health uncertainties lead to this project never being produced but we made it clear that as soon as he was able, we were all in.”
Laura Dern, David Lynch and Kyle MacLachlan attend the premiere of Showtime’s ‘Twin Peaks’ on May 19, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Although her father had “not officially” cast the show before his death, Jennifer is confident he would have reunited with longtime collaborator Kyle MacLachlan.
“I was sworn to secrecy but yes, I’m sure Kyle would have been part of it. And Laura [Dern], and Naomi [Watts]. He loved to play with his friends,” she noted.
Watts previously revealed that she and Dern “had a beautiful lunch” with David at his home in late November, recalling, “I knew he’d been unwell but he was in great spirits. He wanted to go back to work — Laura and I were like, ‘You can do it! You could work from the trailer.’ He was not, in any way, done. I could see the creative spirit alive in him.”
‘Twin Peaks’
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Jennifer said of her father’s final months: “He found himself mentally able to do things, but he was having a hard time breathing. He was working on his archives, and they are almost done.”
After David’s last TV outing was his 2017 revival Twin Peaks: The Return, co-creator Mark Frost told The Times that they had discussed a fourth season of their hit 1990 series.
“We had a very early idea but nothing on paper,” noted Frost. “Who knows? I didn’t feel it was appropriate to push when his health was uncertain. I can’t even fathom trying to do the show without him, but there may be other ways.”
