Kyle MacLachlan was “talking about a movie or series” with David Lynch and Laura Dern before director’s death
Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan has revealed that both he and Laura Dern were discussing a possible new project with David Lynch before his death.
Lynch gave MacLachlan his first major role in the 1980s in Dune. While the film flopped, it did start an iconic partnership that saw him later star in Blue Velvet, as well as the Twin Peaks series and subsequent reboot in 2017.
Similarly, Dern also received her big break from Lynch as a teenager in Blue Velvet, before starring in Wild at Heart and Inland Empire, plus the Twin Peaks revival.
Now, in a new episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast, MacLachlan has revealed that he and Dern remained in frequent contact with Lynch before his death amid his health struggles.
He reflected, “I would visit him at his place, often with Laura Dern, we’d go together and we’d sit at the back, he had a back porch area, back patio. We would have pastries and coffee. And just talk and also talk about future stuff. What was coming, what we could do.”
MacLachlan also confirmed there were talks about another project, but due to Lynch’s battle with emphysema, which left him housebound, it didn’t get off the ground.
“We were talking about a movie or series, but the challenge was that he really couldn’t leave the house easily because of the emphysema. So it would have been remote and we were just sort of talking about it, trying to figure out how we could make it work,” he explained.
MacLachlan continued, “And both Laura and I were like, ‘It will work, it’ll be like you’re right there, you know, we can do this’. But I think for him, and I don’t know if this is true or not, the joy for David was being on set and feeling that space, that sacred space in front of the camera and working that space. So it would’ve been different.”
He also poignantly reflected on Lynch’s character, explaining how it was a stark contrast from the world that he built in his works, adding, “I do know that David, he had a tremendous lightness around him and a joy, particularly in the creative environment that I think somehow allowed him to visit, create, interact with the darker sides of things, things that a lot of people would turn away from. David would look at and draw some kind of creative power from them… he didn’t dwell in those worlds.”
Lynch sadly died in January 2025 after suffering a cardiac arrest resulting from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 78.
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