After more than half a decade as one of the leading filmmakers in the industry, acclaimed director David Lynch is set to receive an honorary Oscar award.

Back in 2016, the entire world was abuzz with the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio had finally won an Academy Award due to his work with The Revenant. However, many who celebrated the actor’s win were clearly forgetting about one of the most overlooked individuals in the industry – David Lynch.

Having kicked off his career making short films in the ’60s, Lynch soon found himself making divisive classics like Eraserhead, before moving on to more big-name projects like The Elephant Man and Dune.

As the years went on, Lynch’s films became all the more cerebral, with productions like Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, and Mulholland Drive proving his worth as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

However, despite numerous nominations over the years – including a few Best Director nods at the Oscars – David Lynch has never received that elusive Academy Award. Until now.

Announced today, The Academy has revealed that David Lynch is set to be one of the four individuals to receive an honorary Oscar award this October alongside Geena Davis, Wes Studi, and Lina Wertmuller.

“These Governors Awards given by the Academy each year recognize individuals who have devoted themselves to a lifetime of artistic accomplishment and brought outstanding contributions to our industry, and beyond,” explained Academy President John Bailey.

While David Lynch has been a prolific personality over the years – reviving his Twin Peaks series in recent years, while continuing his acclaimed musical career – his last feature length film was 2006’s Inland Empire.

Although there are no current Lynch films on the way, dedicated fans (such as yours truly) can only hope that an honour such as this might kick the iconic filmmaker back into that director’s chair for at least one more classic cinematic experience.

Check out the trailer for Mulholland Drive by David Lynch:

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