One of the most striking omissions on last month's massive, 217-name cast list for the Twin Peaks revival was Piper Laurie, who deliciously played the devious Catherine Martell (as well as “Mr. Tojamura”) on both seasons of the original series. While some speculated that Laurie's age was a factor in her absence (she's now 84), in a new interview with EW the actress states that she actively lobbied to return but ultimately wasn't invited back. Yes, that is a real sentence, and no, I don't get it either.
“I made it very clear to David and the team that I would be delighted to come back. I had a fantastic time on the original and won lots of awards. I”m surprised and I have no idea why I haven”t been called back,” she told EW. “I did send a note to David that I would be delighted to return, but I think most of the material that I was in on the original didn”t really involve the darker aspects of the show, and I can guess maybe that”s where David and Mark Frost are going, but I really don”t know. My character was more on the silly, comic, fun side.”
Speaking of Laurie's storyline, it was tightly tied to that of Joan Chen's character Josie Packard, who some fans expected to return despite the fact that she died near the end of the second season (Chen asked to be written out of the original series due to pressure from what the actress later deemed to be “PC factions in the Asian community”). As an unnamed source tells EW, Lynch and his co-creator Mark Frost simply weren't able to fit her into the story.
“She was not asked to return,” said the source. “Lynch couldn”t find something for her or Piper Laurie that would make sense. They had conversations, but couldn”t find a way for her to return… She”s not upset about it. If she was involved, she would comment on it.”
Other major cast members not on the list for the revival were the now-retired Michael Ontkean (Robert Forster has stepped into the role of Sheriff Harry Truman), Chris Mulkey (Hank Jennings), Heather Graham (Annie Blackburn) and Eric Da Re (Leo Johnson). You can find a more complete list here.
The new Twin Peaks is slated to premiere sometime in 2017.