Read update
Summary
Auteur directorDavid Lynchreveals that he can no longer direct projects in person due to illness. Working since the 1960s, Lynch is known asone of the most creative and artistic directorsof his generation. Among Lynch’s oeuvre are critically acclaimed works such asEraserhead,Mullholland Drive,Blue Velvet, andTwin Peaks. He has also directed a number of experimental films and music videos over the course of his career.
PerSight and Sound(viaConsequence), Lynch announces that hewill no longer be able to direct projects in-persondue to a medical diagnosis. According to the director, he now has emphysema due to “smoking for so long.” This disease has left him “homebound” and would make it such that it would be “very bad for [him] to get sick” with COVID or “even with a cold.” Because of this, Lynch will have to take the backseat from any in-person directing, but would “try to do it remotely” if he found a project that inspired him. Check out the quote from Lynch below:
[I was] smoking for so long, and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not. I can’t go out. And I can only walk a short distance before I’m out of oxygen.
Smoking was something that I absolutely loved, but in the end, it bit me. It was part of the art life for me: the tobacco and the smell of it, and lighting things and smoking and going back and sitting back and having a smoke and looking at your work, or thinking about things; nothing like it in this world is so beautiful. Meanwhile, it’s killing me. So I had to quit.
Because of Covid, it would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold. I like to be amongst the things and get ideas there. But I would try to do it remotely, if it comes to it.
UPDATE: 2025-08-24 17:29 EST BY RACHEL LABONTE
Lynch Issues His Own Response
After Lynch’s quotes went viral, he took to Twitter/X to share his direct words on the topic. While he reiterated his emphysema diagnosis, he also confirmed that “I will never retire.”
What Does This Mean For Lynch’s Later Career?
Even before this announcement,Lynch had been slowing down his careerin recent years. His most notable project of the last decade was theTwin Peaksreboot, for which he served as the creator. Lynch has been experimenting with several short films and music videos in recent years, many of them with a 5-minute run time.
Despite this slower career pace,Lynch had plans for upcoming projects. This included the animated projectSnootworld, which Lynch pitched to Netflix, but ultimately did not get picked up. The drama-mystery TV seriesUnrecorded Night, was also cancelled at Netflix following the pandemic. The status of these projects does not make the prospect of Lynch directing something remotely in the near future seem likely.
9 Questions & Mysteries Twin Peaks Season 4 Could Answer 7 Years After Ambiguous Ending
Twin Peaks season 2 may have ended on a cliffhanger, but Twin Peaks: The Return also leaves viewers with just as many — if not more — questions.
Even without directing more projects in person,Lynch’s careeris prolific enough for the director to leave a lasting film legacy. He has been nominated for four Oscars, includingBest Director forMullholland Drive,Blue Velvet, andThe Elephant Man, as well as a Best Adapted Screenplay nod forThe Elephant Man.Lynchhas also played several acting roles over the years, including inLuckyand a cameo role at the end of Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated filmThe Fabelmans.
Source:Sight and SoundviaConsequence
