David Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer, has revealed that the children of the late director are exploring ways in which they can release his final project for fans.
Lynch died in January, aged 78, following a cardiac arrest due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The acclaimed Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet director had been diagnosed with emphysema in 2020.
The last project that Lynch directed was 2017’s Twin Peaks: The Return, but he had finished writing a limited series for Netflix called Unrecorded Night.
Speaking to The Film Stage, Lynch’s cinematographer Peter Deming said: “Shortly before he passed – well, like a year, because it was pre-Covid – there was Unrecorded Night, which he had written. I’d read it, and we actually went on one scout, looking at locations. Then Covid hit, so everything shut down and it never rekindled.”
Now Jennifer Lynch, 57, has told The Times that there could potentially still be a chance for fans to enjoy Unrecorded Night.
“None of us [Lynch’s four children] ever tried to make his series in his place. 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.”
Jennifer was pressed on whether he had already cast any of his regular collaborators, like Kyle MacLachlan, Laura Dern or Naomi Watts, for any roles in the series.
“I was sworn to secrecy but yes, I’m sure Kyle would have been part of it. And Laura [Dern], and Naomi [Watts],” she admitted. “He loved to play with his friends.”
In his tribute to Lynch, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that he and the director had spoken about the project but the pandemic and health issues had prevented it from being made.
“He came in to Netflix to pitch a limited series, which we jumped at,” Sarandos wrote. “It was a David Lynch production, so filled with mystery and risks but we wanted to go on this creative ride with this genius. 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.”
Jennifer is the oldest of Lynch’s four children, and she is shared with his ex-wife Peggy, who he was married to from 1967 to 1974. She makes a brief appearance in her father’s debut film Eraserhead (1977), and also followed in her father’s footsteps by directing several films including Boxing Helena (1993) and Surveillance (2008).
Lynch’s other children include the actor Austin Jack Lynch, who he had with ex-wife Mary Fisk, and Riley Sweeney Lynch, whose mother is the director Mary Sweeney. Lynch’s final marriage, to actor Emily Stofle, saw the birth of his youngest child Lula Boginia Lynch, who was born in 2012.
