David Lynch says he won’t direct the new season of Twin Peaks

Here’s a bit of disappointing, if not entirely unexpected, news: Twin Peaks co-creator, coffee connoisseur, and film-school demigod David Lynch will not direct the revived Twin Peaks when it returns to Showtime for a third season next year. Lynch, who has already written the scripts for all nine episodes of the new season with his co-creator Mark Frost, made the announcement earlier today via Twitter:

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This news comes after Lynch made vague comments in an interview last month that he “hadn’t returned yet” for the show’s third season, leading to reports that disagreements over Lynch’s contract were holding up production on the show. Now it looks like those negotiations have fallen through, and rather than direct the show with a budget he deems inadequate Lynch is opting to walk away from the project entirely, a move consistent with his recent career arc. (Lynch largely financed his last feature, 2006’s Inland Empire, himself, and distributed the film independently.)

Whether Kyle MacLachlan and the rest of the cast will follow Lynch’s lead and leave the project is still a mystery; Showtime is apparently still hoping to lure Lynch back, saying in a statement, “[W]e continue to hold out hope that we can bring [Twin Peaks] back in all its glory with both of its extraordinary creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost, at its helm.” We all know what happened the last time David Lynch abandoned Twin Peaks, so hopefully they can still work something out. But even if they can’t, look on the bright side—at least the Windom Earle fans out there have something to be excited about. See you in another 25 years, David.