Surrealist filmmaker David Lynch announced that he will direct the sequel of the cult classic "Twin Peaks" television series, a month after saying a pay dispute had scuttled his return.

"Dear Twitter Friends, the rumors are not what they seem ..... It is!!! Happening again. #TwinPeaks returns on @SHO_Network," he wrote and was retweeted more than 9,000 times in just a few hours.

The US television network Showtime announced in the fall that the series, based on a small-town murder in quirky Twin Peaks, would return as a limited series in 2016, 25 years after the show's last airing.

But in April, Lynch told his 2.4 million Twitter followers that after more than a year of negotiations "I left because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done".

His apparent about-turn was greeted with joy by diehard fans -- and at least one star of "Twin Peaks".

Kyle MacLachlan, who played FBI Agent Dale Cooper in the original series and is reprising his role, tweeted: "Welcome back again!! #TwinPeaks Special Agent Dale Cooper! on #Showtime #damnfinecoffee."

The two seasons of "Twin Peaks" that aired in 1990 and 1991 were followed by a movie, "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me".
Source: AFP