28 years after Twister hit theaters and shocked audiences with its harrowing, realistic depiction of tornados, a new film in the series is making its way to the big screen. Twisters, from Minari director Lee Isaac Chung, is a modern-day story dealing with the fight between humans and the dangers of severe weather, and it doesn’t appear this new film will have anything to do with the beloved 1996 classic from Jan De Bont. There aren’t any connections to the story or characters from that film, at least according to one of Twisters‘ stars.
Glen Powell, who just wrapped up filming Twisters, recently spoke to Vogue about the 2024 movie, revealing that it’s a completely standalone story.
“It’s definitely not a reboot,” Powell explained. “We’re not trying to recreate the story from the first one. It’s a completely original story. There are not characters from the original movie, so it’s not really a continuation. It’s just its own standalone story in the modern-day.”
“I don’t think anyone has brought up this movie in forever, but talking to people, they’re like, ‘That was one of my favorite movies growing up. That movie terrified me,'” he continued.
Powell also revealed some advice he received from Top Gun: Maverick co-star Tom Cruise, who knows a thing or two about starring in popular blockbusters. Cruise told him, “If you want to make movies of a certain size and scope and scale, you have to figure out what can connect with everyone around the world in every territory.”
“And humans versus weather is a very universal idea,” Powell added. “How powerless we really are in the face of these cataclysmic forces.”
Twisters screenwriter Mark L. Smith shared a similar sentiment about the new film during an interview with Collider earlier this month.
“It’s a lot of fun. [Director Lee Isaac Chung] did his own thing to the script a little bit because that’s what they do, so I don’t know about some of the changes exactly,” Smith shared. “So, I don’t know the details, but it’s a separate story. It’s not a continuation of the original. But it’s just a real wild ride with some good, fun characters. Hopefully, we can tap into what the original had because that thing is just iconic. But it’s so cool to have a director like Isaac taking on something like this. It’s just so out of his norm, and I think he’s having fun. I was texting with him a couple days ago, and it’s just all craziness of it.”
Twisters is set to hit theaters on July 19, 2024. The film also stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Katy O’Brian, Kiernan Shipka, Maura Tierney, Anthony Ramos, Sasha Lane, Brandon Perea, and new Superman star David Corenswet.