Nearly three decades since we last saw Helen Hunt, the late Bill Paxton, and others struggling to outrun CGI cyclones, a follow-up film to director Jan de Bont’s storm chasing adventure, Twister, is on its way. Those tornadoes — brought to life by Academy Award-nominated special effects in the 1996 original — actually still look very realistic to this day, but just wait until you see how they look tearing through the scenery in this upcoming flick. See for yourself and learn more about Twisters in our guide below.
What Is The Twisters Release Date?
The official follow-up to, arguably, the Citizen Kane of tornado movies is finally a reality and is hitting theaters on Friday, July 19, 2024. The upcoming 2024 movie is being produced by Universal Studios (which is also handling domestic distribution), in association with Warner Bros. (which is releasing the film internationally) and Steven Spielberg's production company, Amblin.
The Twisters Trailer Forecasts A Wild Ride
The tornadoes in the original Twister were some of the most frightening storms ever created for cinema. However, it looks like the weather in Twisters is shifting things into a whole new category. Watch the blockbuster’s latest trailer to see what we mean:
Essentially an extension of the film’s first full-length preview, the clip opens with a crowd of people exiting a rodeo amid an incoming storm before introducing our protagonist, who is lured back into the storm chasing business by an old friend and a celebrity in the same business. However, the activity they face proves to be unlike anything any of them have experienced before, such as a pair of twin tornadoes and a cyclone made of fire. This is only a taste of what other wicked nature Twisters has to offer, but it surely has our attention.
TWISTERS IS NOT A DIRECT CONTINUATION, BUT A “NEW CHAPTER”
Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment are not referring to Twisters as a “sequel” to Twister, per se. Glen Powell corroborated this when he described it to Vogue as a "completely original story." This “new chapter” – as the studios are, instead, are calling it – will follow a whole new protagonist who has taken a step back from storm chasing after a brush with death, until a new, disastrous wave of tornadoes forces her back into the storm.
This contradicts an earlier report by Deadline, which suggested the reboot would be a straightforward sequel from the point of view of Bill (Paxton) and Jo’s (Hunt) daughter who “caught the storm-chasing bug” from her folks. That might have been an interesting way to set up a continuation considering Paxton’s passing in 2017 and no word on Hunt being involved. Yet, a film that expands on the world of storm chasing without hanging on the coattails of the original story is, arguably, even more intriguing.
Daisy Edgar-Jones Leads The Twisters Cast
The cast of the original Twister had a stellar ensemble that also included Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Alan Ruck, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. It seems that the Twisters cast is going to have much of the same star power based on who is involved. See for yourself by taking a look at the ensemble below.
Daisy Edgar-Jones (Kate Cooper)
Leading the Twisters cast as former storm chaser Kate Cooper is Daisy Edgar-Jones, who has contended with disastrous situations before on Epix’s recent series adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds and as the star of one of the best horror movies on Hulu, Fresh. The English actor is also known for leading 2022’s adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing and her Golden Globe-nominated roles in TV series Normal People and Under the Banner of Heaven.
Glen Powell (Tyler Owens)
Many of Glen Powell’s best known roles so far happen to be pilots, such as in the Top Gun: Maverick cast and Devotion in 2022 and in 2016’s Hidden Figures as pilot-turned-astronaut John Glenn. In Twisters, however, he plays famous storm chaser Tyler Owens. Also in 2024, the Anyone But You reunited with his Everybody Wants Some!! and Apollo 10-½ director, Richard Linklater, for a 2024 Netflix movie called Hit Man.
Anthony Ramos (Javi)
As Kate's friend, Javi, we have Anthony Ramos, who got his big break playing dual roles in the Broadway smash Hamilton before starring in movies like In the Heights (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination) and the Transformers prequel, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. He more recently starred in Dumb Money, is also joining the MCU in 2024 as part of the upcoming Marvel TV show, Ironheart, and has a sci-fi thriller called Distant in post-production.
Maura Tierney
Maura Tierney is best known for her Emmy-nominated performances on ER and The Affair and, previously, for a ‘90s show cancelled too soon – the hilarious News Radio. Others may recognize her from the big screen in one of the best Jim Carrey movies, Liar Liar, or as the Von Erichs’ matriarch in the instant A24 movie classic, The Iron Claw from 2023.
Brandon Perea
Before signing on to a movie about storm chasing, Brandon Perea broke through in a movie about alien chasing – Jordan Peele’s acclaimed 2022 horror movie, Nope. He previously starred in the Netflix original sci-fi TV show, The OA, and has another thriller in the works called AMP House.
Daryl McCormack
Irish actor Daryl McCormack is best known for playing the title role of Hulu’s Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Before then, he landed a recurring role on Peaky Blinders and, since then, has starred in series like Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters and The Woman in the Wall for Showtime.
Harry Hadden-Paton
British period TV dramas are the bread and butter of Harry Hadden-Paton, who is known from Downton Abbey as Bertie Pelham and for playing Martin Chatteris on Netflix’s The Crown. The English actor’s most notable big screen credits include the 2009 satire In the Loop and one of the best time travel movies, About Time.
Sasha Lane
After making her debut in A24’s American Honey, Sasha Lane went on to star in acclaimed films like The Miseducation of Cameron Post and How to Blow Up a Pipeline. She also had a memorable stint on the first season of Loki and, in 2023, joined Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried on Apple TV+’s miniseries crime drama, The Crowded Room.
Kiernan Shipka
Playing Sally Draper in AMC’s Mad Men cast made Kiernan Shipka one of the most sought-after child actors of her time. Now, she is one of the top Scream Queens of her time, having played the witchy title role of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and, later, leading Amazon Prime’s horror movie original, Totally Killer.
Tunde Adebimpe
Some people know Tunde Adebimpe as the lead singer of indie rock band, TV on the Radio. Others may recognize him for his performances in the likes of Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming as one of Peter’s teachers, and Netflix’s Oscar-winning drama Marriage Story, to name a few.
Nik Dodani
Nik Dodani has led a relatively eclectic career so far, appearing in romantic-comedies like Alex Strangelove, horror flicks like Escape Room, and lending his voice to Disney’s animated adventure film, Strange World. He has also had central roles on various TV shows, such as the revival season of Murphy Brown and Netflix’s Atypical.
David Corenswet
David Corenswet has stolen the show in such titles as Netflix’s period miniseries Hollywood or the chilling A24 horror movie, Pearl. While his role in Twisters will be his biggest to date by the time it comes out, the following year will take his stardom sky high when he leads James Gunn’s Superman cast as the new Man of Steel.
Katy O’Brian
Katy O’Brian has acquired a stunning filmography that includes two MCU characters (Kimball on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Jentorra in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), two different zombie series (The Walking Dead and Z Nation), a DC TV show (Black Lightning), and a character in the Star Wars Universe (Elia Kane on The Mandalorian). Also in 2024, she starred in A24's Love Lies Bleeding.
Twisters Is Rated PG-13
Just like its predecessor, Twisters has been given a PG-13 rating. The MPA cited intense action and peril, some language and injury images as the reasoning.
OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMMAKER LEE ISAAC CHUNG IS HELMING TWISTERS
Twister director Jan de Bont – who told Inverse he was never consulted about this follow-up, but is curious about its potential – was one of many who successfully transitioned from cinematography into directing by helming one of the greatest action movies ever made, 1994's Speed. Somewhat similarly, the director of Twisters, Lee Isaac Chung, was known for acting as the cinematographer of his films before making his mainstream directorial breakthrough with his Academy Award-winning, semi-autobiographical family drama, Minari, in 2020.
The original Twister had the benefit of having a prolific writer like Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton at work on the screenplay alongside his wife, actor Anne-Marie Martin. Twisters also has the benefit of having a particularly versatile writer working on its screenplay – namely Mark L. Smith, at work on its screenplay, who is best known for collaborating with Academy Award-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu on his 2015 adaptation of Michael Punke’s fact-based novel, The Revenant. He also has some acclaimed genre pictures on his resume, including the 2007 “hotel from hell” thriller, Vacancy, the World War II-era horror flick Overlord, and director and star George Clooney’s post-apocalyptic Netflix original, The Midnight Sky.
A Soundtrack Album Will Also Be Available
On the same day Twisters hits the big screen, an album of original songs featured in and inspired by the motion picture will hit the shelves. Some audiences may not even have to see the movie in order to get excited for the soundtrack, especially if they enjoy country music.
Twisters: The Album boasts a track list that includes the likes of “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” by Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert’s “Ain’t in Kansas Anymore,” which appears to pay homage to another classic movie about a tornado, The Wizard of Oz. The legendary Shania Twain and the eclectic Leon Bridges also contribute to the soundtrack, which has 29 songs total and will be available to purchase on CD or vinyl on July 19.
About The Original Twister And How To Watch
The original Twister starred Helen Hunt as stormchaser Jo Harding and Bill Paxton as her estranged TV weatherman husband, Bill, who reunites with her in hopes to finalize their divorce, allowing him to marry his girlfriend, Melissa (Jami Gertz). However, when a streak of devastating tornadoes blows through Oklahoma, they are forced to work together with a group of fellow researchers in an attempt to develop a revolutionary weather alert system that could save lives.
Despite a few moments in the story that do not make a whole lot of sense, Twister became one of the most beloved disaster blockbusters of its time, received two Oscar nominations — one for its sound and the other for its cutting edge visual effects — and made nearly half a billion dollars worldwide when it came out in 1996. While watching it before the standalone sequel, Twisters, is not a requirement, any time is a good time to revisit this exciting thriller.
Rent or buy Twister on Amazon.
Buy Twister on Blu-ray on Amazon.
It is honestly a wonder that Twister did not get a follow-up movie in some form or another sooner — not counting “homages” like 2014’s Into the Storm or the absolutely ridiculous Sharknado movies, of course. However, with the talent involved so far, Twisters seems like it may be a storm worth riding out.
