In the years since David Lynch last directed a feature-length movie in 2006, the iconoclastic director has been busy looking into other areas of interest and indulging several other passions. He's been promoting and speaking eloquently for years about meditation and philosophy, and has also put his name on his own brand of coffee. He played a uniquely inspired prep man for late-night personalities in Louie, a performance that revealed Lynch to be in command of a rare, impressive kind of comic timing. Indeed, it's not every director who could match wits convincingly with Louis C.K.

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Image via David Lynch Foundation

Thankfully, last year brought news that Lynch will be directing every episode of the new run of Twin Peaks on Showtime, which premieres next year. This will be his first notable directing gig since Inland Empire, at once his least affecting and most audacious work to date. And just as many are wondering what's next for the man who made Eraserhead, many other are still enthralled by his previous masterworks and their classic images, whether that be Frank Booth screaming in Blue Velvet or the mysterious, scary little man from Lost Highway.

One of those people would seemingly be John Malkovich, who has begun a wild web series that pays tribute to Lynch's beloved, unparalleled ouevre. Playing Lynch is the series, and it features shorts of Malkovich playing the director and a number of his most famous creations in a variety of scenes. One has already been released on the website, featuring the famed character actor in the role of Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks. Fans can give money to Lynch's charitable foundation to receive new "episodes" of the series as they are available. Each one is directed by Sandro Miller and is scored by new music from The Flaming Lips and Angelo Badalamenti, and though it's not a new David Lynch, it's an entertaining and bewildering enough of a whatsit to perk interest. You can watch the trailer below and I would suggest you don't try to sleep for awhile after that.

Here's the trailer for Playing Lynch:

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Image via David Lynch Foundation
playing-lynch-john-malkovich-image
Image via David Lynch Foundation