10 Strange David Lynch Stories You Probably Don't Know

6. He Met With George Lucas For Return Of The Jedi… And Got A Headache

While David Lynch will tell you that his 1984 adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel Dune was a failure, the cult status of the film says otherwise. This was obvious even in the months that followed its release — it might not look or feel like your average space epic, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t an instant hit for some audience members.

One such viewer was Star Wars auteur George Lucas, who happened to be looking for an up-and-coming director to take over for Return of the Jedi so that he didn’t have to direct (which he happened to find an incredibly stressful experience). As it turns out, Lynch felt similarly about the pitch meeting George invited him to. After listening to the plan for Episode VI, Lynch reportedly left with a severe headache and had to politely decline the offer.