David Lynch’s Twin Peaks revival (don’t you call it a reboot, don’t you dare) is quickly becoming the must-get booking for the cool kids in Hollywood; Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amanda Seyfried, and Laura Dern have already signed on to join Kyle MacLachlan and (presumably) fellow previous castmates Sherilyn Fenn, Miguel Ferrer and Sheryl Lee. Dern’s attachment was particularly exciting, considering the haunting work she did with Lynch on the director’s last feature Inland Empire; now, one of his earlier leading ladies has also jumped into the fray.
Lynch’s endlessly fascinating 2001 puzzle movie Mulholland Dr. was Naomi Watts’ big break; she’d appeared in a handful of ensemble and exploitation films here and in her native Australia (including 1991’s Flirting, alongside pal Nicole Kidman), but her complex, nuanced, two-part performance as Betty and Diane made her an instant star. She reteamed with Lynch the following year for the surrealistic short film series Rabbits (scenes of which were repurposed into Inland Empire), but Twin Peaks will mark their first collaboration since those films.
Deadline broke the news, also reporting that Lynch will reprise his role as FBI Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole. That casting was, presumably, a little easier to make happen.