David Lynch will go down in history as one of cinema’s most iconic and unique visionaries. His films are tough to place into a single genre, spanning crime, drama, comedy, horror, and the just plain weird. He brought surrealism to the mainstream with critically acclaimed movies and TV shows, even if they didn’t achieve applause when they were first unleashed upon an unsuspecting audience; after all, geniuses are marked by their forward-thinking imaginations and are not often recognized in their own time. From the industrial absurdity of Eraserhead to the ugly underbelly of suburbia in Blue Velvet to the hypnotic mysteries of Mulholland Drive, Lynch’s body of work has only continued to puzzle and enchant audiences with age.
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However, the real mysteries of Lynch’s filmography are the ones that never got made. Between his classic films and TV shows, Lynch made concerted efforts to get multiple projects off the ground which, unfortunately, never saw the light of day. Let’s take a look at some of these projects.
Ronnie Rocket
Based on what’s been said about this unmade project, Ronnie Rocket told the story of a little person who gains the ability to control electricity after he undergoes a bizarre medical procedure. The plot also revolves around a detective who is on a quest to access another dimension but faces such obstacles as an otherworldly landscape consisting of bizarre rooms, an inexplicable train, and a group of enigmatic men who also control electricity.
David Lynch has always had a fascination with electricity which has show up in many of his films, making it a shame that we never got to see him go full-throttle with Ronnie Rocket. Lynch tried to get the film made multiple times since releasing Eraserhead, it was just too weird for the studios he presented it to. And the handful of studios that did express interest in producing it ended up facing financial problems before they could commit.
[RELATED: Twin Peaks and Dune Star Kyle MacLachlan Shares Touching Tribute to Late David Lynch]
One Saliva Bubble
David Lynch joined forces with future Twin Peaks collaborator Mark Frost for this script, a quirky sci-fi comedy set in the town of Newtonville, Kansas. The government is carrying out a secret experiment here when a security guard accidentally lets out a tiny saliva bubble that makes its way into the project. But this saliva bubble is all it takes to disrupt the experiment, causing a massive chain reaction that causes everyone in town to switch identities.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis – who had previously produced Blue Velvet – had agreed to get the project off the ground. Comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short were even approached to star in it. But De Laurentiis’ production company was facing financial difficulties, which prevented the film from being made.
Return of the Jedi
Does Return of the Jedi really need an introduction? While fans may have bristled at the excessive cuteness the Ewoks brought to the film, there’s no denying that it’s an otherwise suitably fitting ending to the original Star Wars trilogy.
While David Lynch had achieved some success and critical acclaim with his films Eraserhead and The Elephant Man, it’s hard to wonder why George Lucas thought he’d be a strong candidate to direct the final installment in the Star Wars series. After all, Lynch’s style, as great as it is, is filled with mystery, absurdity, and bleakness, which is in stark contrast to the bright-eyed optimism of Star Wars. Still, Lucas liked him enough to meet with him to discuss the opportunity. But when Lucas showed him some concept art for the film, Lynch was immediately turned off and politely declined.
The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis is widely regarded as one of his best and most important works. It chronicles the bizarre life of Gregor Samsa, a salesman who wakes up to discover that he is now a large insect. Samsa must go about his daily life in this new form, but it takes a massive toll on his job, which strains his relationship with his family.
With such an absurd premise, David Lynch was born to helm a cinematic adaptation of The Metamorphosis. However, while Lynch did write a script based on the literary work, he decided that film wouldn’t do it justice and that its true power was in its words. He also stated that it would have been difficult to secure a large budget to pull off the large-scale insect special effects and that the film would only bring in a small audience.
Antelope Don’t Run No More
Antelope Don’t Run No More was a project that he developed later in his career, and was also one of his more ambitious projects. Not much is known about what it was about, other than a quote from his biography/memoir, Room to Dream, which he wrote with Kristine McKenna: “Set mostly in Los Angeles, Antelope Don’t Run No More braids threads from Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire into a narrative fantasia that incorporates space aliens, talking animals, and a beleaguered musician named Pinky; it’s impressed everyone who’s read it as one of the best scripts Lynch has ever written.”
Unfortunately, Lynch couldn’t find anyone to back the film financially, as it was considered too big and too weird. There was some speculation that Netflix would pick up the project, as they had collaborated with him before on his 2017 short film, What Did Jack Do?, but that never came to pass, either.
Be sure to check out David Lynch’s works that did get made.
