A recent Collider interview with Twisters writer Mark L. Smith confirmed that the upcoming Twister spin-off will center itself on an entirely new tale, the film’s star, Glen Powell, has answered some of our other burning questions. During a chat with Deadline, Powell revealed more about where the audience will land when the film funnels into theaters on July 19, 2024, and some helpful advice from an old co-star that he’s taking to heart.
Piggybacking what Smith said when he spoke with Collider’s Steve Weintraub earlier this month, Powell confirmed that Twisters is “definitely not a reboot,” adding, “We’re not trying to recreate the story from the first one. It’s a completely original story.” And, if you were hoping to catch up with Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt’s characters to see if their reconciliation survived the storms to come, Powell has some bad news for you. “There are no characters from the original movie back, so it’s not really a continuation,” he explains, tagging on that the film will pick up with a new crew of storm chasers in “its own standalone story in the modern-day.”
With his most recent project, Anyone But You, now playing in cinemas, Powell took a moment to reflect on some sage words of advice that his Top Gun: Maverick co-star Tom Cruise gave him. While he didn’t note if the piece of insight was specifically for Twisters or more of a general bit of career advice, the Mission: Impossible star told Powell, “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.” Connecting it to how he’s approached the natural disaster-based film, Powell said, “And humans versus weather is a very universal idea – how powerless we really are in the face of these cataclysmic forces.”
‘Twisters’ Almost Reunited Glen Powell and Joseph Kosinski
Powell and Joseph Kosinski previously teamed up for 2022’s blockbuster event of the year, Top Gun: Maverick, and Twisters almost saw them reunite for another pulse-pounding project. In our interview with Smith, he revealed that he and the TRON: Legacy helmer had come up with the idea of Twisters together, with Kosinski initially attached as the director. “We kind of beat it out and then went to Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall [the original executive producers on Twister], and then they signed off,” Smith said. “Universal signed off. So I wrote it, and it was all set and Spielberg was ready to go, and he was excited, and it was gonna be Joe.”
Unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out and Kosinski was pulled into the untitled Formula One racing movie with Brad Pitt, leaving the director’s chair open. As Lee Isaac Chung was already working alongside Smith on another film, the filmmaker was tapped for Twisters and the rest is history.
Find out everything we know about Twisters in our handy guide and stay tuned for more information. Check out a trailer for Powell’s latest film, Anyone But You, and see it now in theaters in the U.S.
via Collider