In a case of legends directing legends, Variety is reporting that director David Lynch has joined the star-studded cast of Steven Spielberg's The Fablemans, in an as-yet undisclosed role. Not much is known about The Fablemans, save for a projected Thanksgiving 2022 release date, and the powerhouse cast including Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, Julia Butters, Sam Rechner and newcomer Gabriel Labelle.
While Lynch has not directed a feature length film in some time, the iconic director has remained prominent in the public consciousness in recent years with the return of Twin Peaks in 2017. More recently, attention shifted back onto his 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune, in the wake of the 2021 remake by director Denis Villeneuve.
Though both Lynch and Spielberg rose to prominence in the 1970s, The Fablemans marks the first collaboration between the two directorial powerhouses. Though Spielberg has confined the bulk of his contributions to the world of film and television to behind the camera, this will not be Lynch's first onscreen appearance. Aside from a few guest roles, he played the role of Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks, which he created alongside Mark Frost.
According to Variety, Spielberg is currently in post-production on The Fablemans, which he co-wrote with screenwriter Tony Kushner. Spielberg and Kushner have a history of collaboration, working together on Munich, Lincoln, and most recently West Side Story. With West Side Story, the pair has swept up a handful of nominations apiece from an assortment of critics associations, all praising their work on the adaptation of the 1957 musical, which features lyrics by the late, great Stephen Sondheim.
Though The Fablemans isn't necessarily strictly autobiographical, it is still based largely on Spielberg's childhood growing up in Arizona following his parent's divorce. It was in those early days that he discovered a love for filmmaking, creating stories with whatever was available to him, in that all-too-familiar origin story that unites so many directors of the era.
The project is also something of a return to form for Spielberg, whose projects over the years have featured many young actors in prominent roles. From Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore in E.T the Extraterrestrial, to Haley Joel Osment in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Spielberg has often hinged projects on the shoulders of young actors, and Rechner and Labelle are poised to continue in that tradition.