Ahead of the first trailer's debut later this week, Warner Bros. has released the first three photos for Into the Storm, featuring stars Richard Armitage (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead). This thriller follows multiple residents of a small Oklahoma town who come together when a deadly tornado ravages their area. Take a look at these photos, then read on for more details from director Steven Quale (Final Destination 5) and Sarah Wayne Callies.

Sarah Wayne Callies plays Allison Stone, a meteorologist gathering data from the storm with the help of a storm chaser (Matt Walsh) and his tornado-proof vehicle dubbed Titus. Here's what the actress had to say about how these characters don't quite know what they're in for.

"It's a bit of a contentious marriage of convenience. And we both end up massively over our heads."

The actress also talked about why she's drawn to stories of survival, following her work on the small screen in The Walking Dead and Prison Break.

"I would love to do a project where I don't almost die. But I do think I'm drawn to stories about survival. They are so primal. You get into human behavior and really elemental things."

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One of the other primary characters is Gary Morris (Richard Armitage), an assistant high school principal who goes from overseeing a graduation ceremony to desperately searching for his missing son in these dreadful weather conditions.

This thriller comes nearly 20 years after the 1996 blockbuster Twister, although director Steven Quale believes this subject is even more timely now, due to the footage storm chasers have been posting on YouTube.

"In the past five years the activity has been insane. And the footage really shows the raw power that nature has. With filmmaking we can do justice to show how beautiful, deadly and spectacular these tornadoes can be. My goal was to make it as real as possible. We do an impressive job."

The film showcases a number of different tornadoes, including the "giant wedge tornado" that can be up to two miles long, along with smaller and more unpredictable twisters, including fire tornadoes. The director also compared the movie to one of last year's biggest blockbusters, in terms of scope.

"People are going to be blown away. What Gravity did to space, this movie will do to natural phenomena and weather."

When the trailer debuts later this week, one of the highlights is said to be a twister engulfing a massive 747 airplane at an airport. Sarah Wayne Callies also described the 100 mph winds that were used on the Detroit set to help capture the authenticity of these deadly storms.

"The first time they turned on the fan it blew me off my mark 25 feet. The fan pulls the air out of your lungs so you're kind of gasping. Of course they are throwing leaves into it. When that hits your face at 100 mph it feels like being backhanded."

When asked if that experience was more terrifying than encountering zombies in The Walking Dead, the actress had this to say.

"They are both terrifying prospects, but at least tornadoes don't have rotting flesh coming off them. Tornadoes are not after you specifically. But they will flatten whatever is in their path. It's nothing personal."

Stay tuned for the first Into the Storm trailer later this week.