Details have emerged regarding the long-gestating sequel to the 1996 disaster movie, Twister. Titled Twisters, a recent report has revealed that Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment are now on the hunt for a director, with the plot set to link back to the main character of the original outing, Dr. William "The Extreme" Harding, played by the late, great Bill Paxton.
According to Deadline, Twisters will center on the daughter of Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt’s characters who “has caught the storm-chasing bug her parents had.” Sadly, Bill Paxton passed away in 2017, but it sounds like the Twister sequel has found the perfect way to honor him by bringing in his daughter who wants to follow in her father’s footsteps.
Sources have claimed that Twisters is looking to bring back Helen Hunt, who starred in the first movie as Dr. Joanne Harding, an eccentric meteorologist and storm-chaser. Currently, there is no word on whether Hunt is interested in returning.
Released in 1996, Twister begins during the approach of the most powerful storm in decades. University professor Dr. Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) and an underfunded team of students prepare the prototype for Dorothy, a ground-breaking tornado data-gathering device conceived by her estranged husband, Bill (Bill Paxton). When Harding tells Bill that Dorothy is ready for testing -- and that their privately funded rival Dr. Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) has stolen the idea and built his own -- Bill rejoins the team for one last mission.
Directed by Jan de Bont from a screenplay by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin, and starring Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck, Todd Field, and Jeremy Davies alongside Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, Twister was met with generally positive reviews from critics and went on to gross $495 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing movie of 1996. No wonder the studios are so determined to get a sequel made.
Twisters is Now Searching for the Right Director
With a general plot outline now in place, Twisters is now searching for the right director to finally bring the sequel to the big screen. The initial plan was reportedly to have Top Gun: Maverick filmmaker Joseph Kosinski at the helm, but he is now busy bringing a Formula One project to screens with Brad Pitt and Apple.
Thus, the directors being sought after for Twisters includes the likes of Oscar-winning Free Solo filmmaker team Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vaserhelyi; Dan Trachtenberg, who recently reignited the Predator franchise with the critically acclaimed, Prey; and Travis Knight, who is best known for Kubo and the Two Strings and the Transformers prequel Bumblebee. No doubt there will be more names in the mix that have not yet been revealed.
Twisters has been written by The Revenant scribe Mark L. Smith, with the script reportedly receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from legendary director Steven Spielberg, an executive producer on the first Twister.
It certainly sounds like Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Pictures are eager to make Twisters happen, with the project possessing all the potential for a runaway disaster movie hit much like its fondly remembered predecessor.