In 1984, David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks) directed what is, so far, the only feature film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel, Dune. The result is one of the famous disasters in Hollywood history, and Lynch was so upset at the behind-the-scenes meddling that he disowned the movie.

Now, in a new interview, Lynch says he has “zero interest” in seeing director Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming adaptation of the source material, and he also denies working on a new show for Netflix. But might one be in development despite that denial?



David Lynch on Villeneuve’s Dune

“I have zero interest in Dune,” Lynch told The Hollywood Reporter when asked if had seen the recently-released photos from Villeneuve’s upcoming adaptation of Herbert’s novel. When asked why, Lynch responded:

“Because it was a heartache for me. It was a failure and I didn’t have final cut. I’ve told this story a billion times. It’s not the film I wanted to make. I like certain parts of it very much — but it was a total failure for me.”

Even though we’re eagerly anticipating Villeneuve’s version, it’s tough to blame Lynch for souring on Dune after what he went through. For a rare 1983 discussion between Lynch and Herbert about all things Dune, check out this piece from the /Film archives.

Will We Ever See a David Lynch Netflix Show?

This past January, Netflix released Lynch’s 17-minute short film called What Did Jack Do?, in which the director plays a detective who interrogates a monkey about whether the monkey committed a murder. (If only that were the weirdest thing to happen this year.) Rumors have since sprouted that the filmmaker is working on a full-fledged show for Netflix, and when THR asked him about those rumors, Lynch sort of sidestepped the question. “There’s all kinds of rumors,” he said. “I’ve got a show called What Did Jack Do? on Netflix right now. It’s a great show about a monkey. It’s something you’ve got to see. And it will really help you in quarantine.”

But how about that other show, the one the rumors are about? “All these rumors are flying about, but I can tell you that there’s nothing happening in that regard,” Lynch said. “It’s a rumor that even if it was true — there’s nothing happening.”

Maybe it’s just that I’m on the lookout for any silver lining I can get right now, but it seems to me as if there very well might be a Lynch Netflix show in the works, but it’s just not being actively worked on right now because of the coronavirus. Perhaps I’m being overly hopeful because his 2017 series Twin Peaks: The Return was such a monumental piece of television, but I really hope Lynch was choosing his words carefully in this interview and that we will eventually hear that he’s teaming up with Netflix to bring us some a full-length series which takes us into another corner of his one-of-a-kind brain.