The world was rocked this week when visionary filmmaker David Lynch passed away at the age of 78. Many of Lynch’s admirers, as well as plenty of his former collaborators, have since gone out of their way to publicly mourn his passing and pay tribute to his work. The growing list of those who have taken the time to honor Lynch now includes Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who took to Instagram to celebrate one of his “all time favorite filmmakers.”
Sarandos specifically recalled the time when Lynch came close to making “his last project” with Netflix. “He came into Netflix to pitch a limited series which we jumped at. It was a David Lynch production, so filled with mystery and risks but we wanted to go on this creative ride with this genius,” the Netflix executive explained. “First COVID, then some health uncertainties [led] to this project never being produced but we made it clear that as soon as he was able, we were all in.”
“David Lynch was an unapologetic genius,” Sarandos concluded. “His body of work is remarkable, visionary, bold and artful. I will always wonder about what he had in mind for us.”
Lynch made some of the most impactful American films of the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s. He released his last film, Inland Empire, in 2006 and only followed it up in any major way in 2017 when he returned to direct and co-write all 18 episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return, the acclaimed continuation of his and Mark Frost’s beloved, deeply influential ’90s TV series. Twin Peaks‘ third season would turn out to be Lynch’s last directorial effort, but it was rumored for years that he had other films and TV shows in development.
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These rumored projects included a Netflix limited series like Sarandos describes that was originally believed to be titled Wisteria and later Unrecorded Night. Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks: The Return cinematographer Peter Deming revealed in a 2021 interview that he didn’t have “any news” about the project at that time, noting that it had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but said that he assumed it would “come back to life at some point.” One can only assume that this project is the same one referred to by Sarandos.
While Lynch’s fans will no doubt be disheartened to hear that the filmmaker came legitimately close to making one more limited series, they can still rejoice in the films and TV shows he did make throughout his career. Those include Twin Peaks: The Return, which is about as impressive a final artistic statement as cinephiles have ever seen from a filmmaker of Lynch’s caliber.