Empire Celebrates David Lynch With Twin Peaks-Inspired Subscriber Cover

On 15 January, the cinematic world shifted off its axis. At the age of 78, David Lynch passed away – a true pioneer, a complete one-off, whose big-screen (and small-screen) masterpieces never failed to transport us somewhere else; often directly into Lynch’s own singular brain. His work was surreal, uncompromising, challenging, engrossing, and always, always visionary, translating dreamlike ideas into pure celluloid. When news of his passing arrived, Team Empire wanted to do something special to celebrate his life and legacy – not only delivering the ultimate tribute to Lynch inside the new issue of Empire magazine, but putting him on the subscriber cover of our April 2025 issue.

The cover, illustrated exclusively for Empire by Edward Tuckwell, pictures Lynch in Twin Peaks’ iconic Red Room, walking on that black-and-white zigzag floor towards those mysterious crimson curtains. That Lynch has left us is hard to comprehend; that he leaves behind such an astonishing body of work is a joy. It’s as bittersweet as a damn fine cup of coffee, paired with a slice of cherry pie.

Inside the issue, we speak to Nicolas Cage on his memories of making Wild At Heart; get the untold story on Lynch’s lost animated feature Snootworld with writer Caroline Thompson; look back on The Elephant Man with Dexter Fletcher; hear from Chris Isaak on how he came to be in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me; speak to writer Barry Gifford on his collaborations with the great director; take a look back on Lynch’s indelible female characters; plus, Censor’s Prano Bailey-Bond writes on the filmmaker who changed her life forever.

It’s the ultimate read for longtime fans of Lynch, or those preparing to dive into his wild worlds for the first time – find it on newsstands in the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning issue, on sale from Thursday 13 February. Pre-order a copy online here.