What Remains of Edith Finch creator wanted Weird Al Yankovic in the game

Giant Sparrow's surreal family drama What Remains of Edith Finch is known for being haunting, literary and elegant. None of these words would typically be used to describe parody artist and musician Weird Al Yankovic, yet that didn't stop Edith Finch director Ian Dallas from wanting to collaborate with the man behind Amish Paradise and Pretty Fly for a Rabbi.

"I really would have loved to make this game with Weird Al Yankovic," Dallas said in an interview with Glixel.

As it turns out, Dallas had an entire concept for how Weird Al would fit into this eerie world.

Those who played Edith Finch know that the Finch family monarch, Edie, is known for her stubbornness. So Dallas thought of a way that this character trait could turn her into a folk hero worthy of Weird Al's attention.

"Edie Finch could be this American cultural icon in the 80s and I wanted to have this Weird Al song about her," the developer said.

And what would she be famous for, you may wonder? Dallas explained:

"I think in the 80s there's this forest fire and everyone's asked to leave and Edie Finch is like 'Alright, I'm not going to leave. I'm going to stay with this house forever!'"

That's fairly in-keeping with Edie's character. Plus it has a basis in reality as there really was a man who made the news for stubbornly refusing to leave his house when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. This even happened in Washington State, where What Remains of Edith Finch is set. (Granted Weird Al never wrote a song about this man.)

As for why the Weird Al collaboration never happened, it simply came down to a matter of time. "I just thought of the idea too late," Dallas said, noting that "on the next game, I would love to find a way to work with him."

Oh,what could have been!

For more on What Remains of Edith Finch, including various original cut concepts, we had our own lengthy interview with Dallas upon the game's recent release on Xbox One (after premiering on PS4 and PC).