Werner Herzog has spoken candidly about the strained final years of his relationship with David Lynch, revealing that the two directors drifted apart as Lynch became increasingly devoted to transcendental meditation. Herzog made the comments while promoting his new film Bucking Fastard, which he has dedicated to Lynch, who died in January 2025. The remarks offer a rare, personal glimpse into how two of cinema's most distinctive filmmakers, despite deep mutual respect, ultimately struggled to maintain the closeness they once shared.

In an interview with IndieWire, the 84-year-old Herzog explained that contact with Lynch grew "difficult" as he immersed himself fully in meditation, even describing how Lynch would keep a photo of his guru facing him during conversations, with visitors positioned beyond it. Herzog said Lynch increasingly wanted to discuss world peace and meditation, subjects he himself had no interest in, creating what he acknowledged was a kind of barrier between them. Despite this, Herzog noted that Lynch repeatedly floated the idea of collaborating, once offering to produce Herzog's film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, though the conversations never progressed beyond a certain distance. Herzog was unable to show Lynch his new film, which stars Kate and Rooney Mara, before Lynch's death from cardiac arrest linked to obstructive pulmonary disease.