Encountering a photo of beautiful flowers on Instagram, especially in the throes of spring, may seem innocuous to most users, but to Twin Peaks fans, Kyle MacLachlan’s (Twin Peaks, Portlandia) Sunday post of purple wisteria signaled something deeper. Since it’s appearance in Production Weekly this past December, director David Lynch’s (Twin Peaks, Eraserhead) secretive upcoming Netflix series – working titles include Wisteria and Unrecorded Night – has started turning the Twin Peaks rumor-mill. Thus MacLachlan, long-time Lynch collaborator, posting a picture of the flower from which the director’s Netflix project derives it’s name on his Instagram Sunday has sent Twin Peaks fans into a mild frenzy.
Sunday’s post on MacLachlan’s Instagram is not the first occasion in which the Dale Cooper actor has vaguely hinted at return of his beloved FBI agent on social media. In 2019, two years after Showtime’s experimental continuation Twin Peaks: The Return, the Hollywood Horror Museum teased insider knowledge about a further installment of the Twin Peaks story, via Twitter. According to IndieWire, Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer Lynch serves on the museum’s board which lent credibility to their claim, one that picked up massive traction online. As the 2019 rumors mounted, MacLachlan tweeted a photo of himself which included the caption “thinking about…donuts this morning”, a not-so-veiled reference to his Twin Peaks persona.
Michael Horse (Twin Peaks, Claws), whose Deputy Hawk worked alongside Dale Cooper in both Twin Peaks and The Return, seemed to join in on MacLachlan’s vague-posting in 2019, with an Instagram post that featured his character getting shushed. While the virtual Bookhouse Boy hand-signals thrown up between MacLachlan and Horse on social media never seemed to come to fruition, the Hollywood Horror Museum assured Twin Peaks fans that the continuation they projected for 2020 had been delayed due to COVID-19, via Twitter.
In response to MacLachlan’s Sunday post, the Hollywood Horror Museum reiterated their position on Lynch’s new project by saying “we’re not going to say anything” (Twitter). The museum’s tweet notably included photo of tragic Twin Peaks’ protagonist Laura Palmer writing in her secret diary. Much like MacLachlan’s post, fans saw this as a subtle nod, especially considering that a popular theory about the new series is that in will follow Laura Palmer doppelganger Carrie Page, via Nerdist.
While MacLachlan’s recent post, paired with the Hollywood Horror Museum’s continued vague commentary, nudged Twin Peaks fans toward the conclusion that Netflix’s Wisteria/Unrecorded Night will see a continuation of Laura Palmer and Dale Cooper’s story, there are other interpretations of MacLachlan’s post. As MacLachlan has been featured in many of Lynch’s non-Twin Peaks projects, such as Blue Velvet and Dune, it’s possible that MacLachlan is hinting toward his inclusion in Lynch’s new series in a capacity that may not involve Dale Cooper. MacLachlan’s storied television career likewise included the role of Desperate Housewives husband Orson Hodge, a series who’s drama unfolded on the iconic Wisteria Lane, which the actor may be referencing in his post.
In February, Lynch trolled fans bit by teasing an announcement on the YouTube channel where he posts daily weather reports and number of the day as well as updates to his various visual art projects. While many hoped this announcement would be an update on Wisteria/Unrecorded Night, the seventy-five-year-old director simply informed fans that he would continue the daily weather reports, after considering bringing them to an end. Closely guarded secrets and nearly unsolvable mysteries are a staple of Lynch’s work both on and off screen, and for that reason Nerdist speculates that “there’s a good chance we won’t know what Wisteria is until it appears on our TV screens.”
Without confirmation from Lynch or Netflix on the series, Twin Peaks fans hoping that Wisteria/Unrecorded Night will bring that gum they like back in style will have to sustain on the speculative momentum of posts from the likes of MacLachlan and the Hollywood Horror Museum.