David Lynch Drops Out of Showtime's New TWIN PEAKS Episodes

About six months ago, word came out that writer/director David Lynch was reteaming with Mark Frost to bring new episodes of their cult classic TV series Twin Peaks to Showtime. Actors had already signed on, fans were pumped, and it looked like this was a done deal. But now it appears that Lynch won't be involved with the new episodes after all.

Dear Twitter Friends, Showtime did not pull the plug on Twin Peaks.

— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) April 5, 2015

After 1 year and 4 months of negotiations, I left because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done.

— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) April 5, 2015

This weekend I started to call actors to let them know I would not be directing. Twin Peaks may still be very much alive at Showtime.

— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) April 5, 2015

I love the world of Twin Peaks and wish things could have worked out differently.

— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) April 5, 2015

I've seen a lot of speculation that this is just Lynch's way of negotiating in public. That's a tactic that's used all the time (Robert Downey Jr. is a master at it) to try to get more money or control from studios or networks, because then the creatives can point to articles like this one and the fan outcry and basically say to the executives, "Look at this reaction. There's no show/movie without me." Is that what's happening here? Well, it's not that exact scenario, because Showtime released a statement in response: 

We were saddened to read David Lynch’s statement today since we believed we were working towards solutions with David and his reps on the few remaining deal points. SHOWTIME also loves the world of Twin Peaks and we continue to hold out hope that we can bring it back in all its glory with both of its extraordinary creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost, at its helm.

So Showtime is saying the right things in public, but you have to imagine that they're at least considering continuing the show without Lynch's involvement. They've probably put a bunch of money into these new episodes already, and since the network could definitely use a boost in terms of relevance and being a touchstone in the pop culture conversation, it might make sense for them to give Lynch what he wants and let this thing move forward as intended. But that's easy for us to say — we don't know all of the particulars.

Regardless of your feelings about his style, Lynch is one of the few guys out there who has a truly unique and distinct voice as a filmmaker and creator, and it'd be a shame if he wasn't able to return to the world he helped create. What do you think?