David Lynch’s Return of the Jedi [Star Wars Fan Trailer]

David Lynch was George Lucas’ first choice to direct Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Lynch turned the offer down, but this fan-made trailer by Samuel C. Spitale imagines what David Lynch’s version of Star Wars would have looked like, and it is awesome!

This trailer is packed with references to David Lynch’s work.

• We see Han Solo frozen in carbonite and backed by the red curtains of the Black Lodge which is reminiscent of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) wrapped in plastic on Twin Peaks.
• Darth Vader yells “I am not an animal!” like John Merrick (John Hurt) in The Elephant Man.
• BOB’s face flashes over Darth Vader’s helmet implying that he was possessed much like Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) in Twin Peaks.
• Sy Snootles sings “Llorando”, a Spanish-language cover of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” which was featured in Mulholland Drive, in a scene that also evokes Dorothy Valens (Isabella Rossellini) singing in Blue Velvet.
• Yoda speaks backwards like the dwarf, aka The Man from Another Place (Michael J. Anderson), from Twin Peaks.
• Darth Vader’s mask is removed revealing Robert Blake’s Mystery Man from Lost Highway.
• Darth Vader’s head floats in front of a star field much like Jack Nance’s head in the opening shot of Eraserhead.
• The sands of Tatooine looks basically identical to the desert planet Arrakis from Dune.
• The Emperor says, “He is filled with secrets. Where he’s from, the mynock’s sing their pretty song and there is always music in the air.” This is a slight alteration of a quote by The Man From another Place on Twin peaks: “She’s filled with secrets. Where we’re from, the birds sing a pretty song and there’s always music in the air.”
• Han Solo says, “I got to find out what kind of trees these are. They’re really something.” That same line is said by Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) on Twin Peaks.

Update: Tyler Ham, the visual effects artist behind this trailer, mentioned a few references that I missed in the comments:

• Clip from Dune with twin suns like Tatooine
• There’s an ear in the grass behind Wicket like the one found by Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) in Blue Velvet
• Salacious Crumb has an Oxygen Mask and Tank like Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) in Blue Velvet

Bonus Stars Wars x David Lynch Mashups by Davide Di Lorenzo and Dario Romaniello (via Welcome to Twin Peaks)