Back in 1996, disaster blockbusters were all the rage. It was the middle of the blockbuster boom when Twister, starring Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Cary Elwes was released. Debuting the same year as Independence Day and followed in 1997 by Volcano and Dante's Peak, Twister was a surprise mega-hit following the adventures of storm chasers in their pursuit of extreme weather events.
Now, almost 3 decades later, in a move no one was expecting, a follow-up to the 90s hit is scheduled for release in 2024. The follow-up has been in development since 2020, but it wasn't until the end of 2022 that concrete news was released on the highly anticipated sequel. With that being said, let's take a look at what we know about the Twister sequel.
What Happened In Twister?
The original 1996 Twister brought together a stellar cast for some big-budget high-octane storm-chasing action. Helen Hunt plays Dr. Jo Harding, a meteorologist obsessed with tornadoes after a severe storm destroyed her family home and her father died when she was a teen. Jo leads a team of storm chasers, which used to include her husband Bill (Bill Paxton) who is now a weatherman and engaged to someone new. With the pair on the brink of divorce, Bill travels with his new fiancée to finally get Jo to sign divorce papers, only to find her and her team in the middle of chasing a storm.
After Jo takes off with the unsigned divorce papers in pursuit of the storm, Bill ends up drawn back into the storm-chasing world after discovering the weather probe called "Dorothy" that Jo has created based on his designs. He also discovers that rival storm chaser Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) has stolen the design, built his own version, and plans on taking all the credit. As the two storm-chasing teams battle it out for the prestige that Bill and Jo's invention will land them, Jo is more concerned with creating effective early warning systems and saving lives so no one has to go through what her family did.
Along the way, the teams encounter tornadoes with increasing strength and Jo and Bill remember what they both loved about storm chasing and about each other. Of course, the film culminates with an epic, frightening encounter with an F5 storm, the strongest possible category of tornado, and possibly the strongest ever recorded if the team can only launch "Dorothy" into it.
What Is The Twister Sequel’s Title?
For a long time, the title of the new Twister sequel was rumored to be Twister 2: The Terror Continues. If that had been the case, it would have been an odd choice for a title, framing the sequel as a horror movie instead of an action-packed thriller. Instead, the true title was revealed in the updated announcement about the upcoming sequel. Currently, no numbers or subtitles are present, and the sequel is slated to be called Twisters. Simple but effective.
Who Is Directing the Twister Sequel?
The 1996 original was directed by Jan de Bont, director of Speed and Speed 2 and cinematographer on Die Hard. The script was written by prolific author and creator of Jurassic Park Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin, an actress and now ex-wife of Michael Crichton.
This time around, Universal and co-financer Warner Bros. Pictures are placing the directing duties in the hands of Minari director Lee Isaac Chung, who earned several Oscar nominations with the film. The script will be penned by Mark L. Smith, who co-wrote the Leonardo DiCaprio award winner The Revenant. If nothing else, the film has an impressive creative team at its helm. Also on the behind-the-scenes team is producer Frank Marshall, who has worked on the Indiana Jones and Bourne franchises as well as numerous successes like The Sixth Sense.
What Is The Twister Sequel About?
Plot details regarding Twisters are scarce. Rumors abound that the hope is to bring back Helen Hunt to reprise her role as Dr. Jo Harding, and that the plot will focus on her and Bill's daughter who has taken up her parents' storm-chasing interests. Unfortunately, the legendary Bill Paxton passed away in 2017, so his character will likely be memorialized and his legacy honored through the story. Universal has stated that the new film will be a "new chapter from the 1996 movie." The incredible Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who played Dusty Davis, part of Jo's storm-chasing team, also sadly passed away in 2014 and will hopefully be honored in the new chapter.
Hunt has stated her interest in a sequel many times over the years, including revealing that she had co-written a sequel with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal. According to an interview Hunt gave on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she had tried multiple times to pitch her idea for a more diverse sequel that would have seen her direct, but the studio wasn't interested in hearing it.
While the details are still mostly under wraps there is already a set release date for Twisters with its planned release of July 19, 2024. In this release slot, it will be currently going up against Transformers: A New Generation and be followed the next week by the Marvel film Thunderbolts. Here's hoping the sequel can weather the storms at the box office and stir up an F5 category hit.