Movies that were supposed to launch franchises (but didn’t): Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

https://lebeauleblog.com/2017/05/19/movies-that-were-supposed-to-launch-franchises-but-didnt-twin-peaks-fire-walk-with-me/

When it came time to make a Twin Peaks movie, Lynch found he was limited by the availability of the actors who arguably owed him their careers. Kyle MacLachlan agreed to reprise his role as Agent Dale Cooper. But fearing type-casting, he asked to reduce his participation to an extended cameo. Flynn Boyle and Fenn were no shows. But Sheryl Lee who portrayed the doomed Laura Palmer was available.

There were other ideas for a Twin Peaks movie that might have been a continuation of the series. But Lynch decided with the cast he had available, his best option was to go back to the beginning. He reasoned that if the prequel performed well at the box office, there would be opportunities to continue the story in sequels.

The show had already told the story of Laura’s demise, but not directly. We heard other characters talk about their experiences with the mysterious character. They read from her diaries or played back recordings of her voice. Laura even appeared in visions, but we never actually saw the living breathing girl. Fire Walk With Me would tell Laura’s story for the first time.

As it turns out, that’s not the story fans wanted to see. The show ended with a killer cliffhanger (several actually) in a bid to spur viewers to demand a third season. The relatively small group of fans who watched Twin Peaks to the bitter end (myself among them) wanted to see what happened next. Even among fans of the show, there wasn’t much an appetite for a prequel.