Twisters Release Date, Cast, Director, Plot And More Details

In 1996, people were shelling out the big bucks to watch big disasters on the big screen. "Independence Day" was the #1 movie of the year, with aliens invading Earth and blowing up landmarks across the world. And while the year's #2 movie didn't threaten us with a global invasion, it did serve up a whole lot of destruction. Directed by Jan de Bont, "Twister" swept up $241 million domesticallyand $495 million worldwide, and while its special effects might look dated today, they were pretty impressive at the time, delivering a stormy spectacle at the summer box office.

And now, it looks like there's another funnel cloud forming on the horizon, courtesy of industry giants Hollywood, Amblin, and Warner Bros. In an era of massively popular legacy sequels — looking at you, "Top Gun: Maverick" — Hollywood has decided it's time to revisit the movie that took 1996 by ... storm. (We're not apologizing.) Yep, a new "Twister" movie, titled "Twisters," is on the way, bringing along a fresh new cast and plenty of state-of-the-art effects. If you want to know more about the upcoming disaster flick, then look out for those flying cows and get down to the cellar as we discuss everything you need to know about "Twisters."

If you love action movies, we've got good news for you — 2024 is going to be an exciting time at the theater. Want monsters? Get ready for "A Quiet Place: Day One." In the mood for superheroes? "Deadpool 3" is going to get crazy. Feel like fighting off leather-clad raiders in the wastelands of Australia? Then it's almost time to ride with "Furiosa."

Or maybe you're wanting to climb into your pickup truck and chase a few storm systems across the Midwestern plains ... from the comfort of your theater seat. If watching a bunch of young heroes tracking down some of the scariest storms imaginable sounds up your (tornado) alley, then we've got good news for you. "Twisters" is set to hit theaters on July 19, 2024. (Just be sure to stay away from drive-ins.) While the writers' and actors' strikes did pause production for a while, The Hollywood Reporter said in November 2023 that the movie should have enough time to wrap things up and hit that July release date.

First — let's address the flying cow in the room. Is "Twisters" a sequel? Our answer is "probably not?" Distribution studio Universal is describing the upcoming film as "a new chapter from the 1996 movie," so that sounds like more of a reboot than a traditional part two.

Interestingly, at one point, it was reported that "Twisters" would focus on Helen Hunt's character from the original movie and her relationship with her tornado-chasing daughter. Since then, it's been said that no one from the first film will be returning for the follow-up, so what will "Twisters" actually be about?

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the film will follow "a former storm chaser who, after surviving a disastrous tornado encounter, now works a desk job. However, she will soon be forced to — you guessed it — go out into the breach once more."

The original "Twister" was absolutely stacked with talent. Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt played the lead tornado chasers, and the supporting cast was populated with recognizable names, such as Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck, Jake Busey, Jami Gertz, and Oscar-nominated director Todd Field. Sadly, Paxton and Hoffman have since passed on, and it's been reported that none of the OG actors will return for "Twisters.'

So who will be taking their place in the Suck Zone? Well, the lead character will be played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her turn in the miniseries "Normal People." She's also starred in projects like the cannibal horror flick "Fresh," the Hulu miniseries "Under the Banner of Heaven," and the cinematic adaptation of "Where the Crawdads Sing."

She'll be joined here by Glen Powell, who played the cocky Hangman in "Top Gun: Maverick," as well as Anthony Ramos from "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" and Brandon Perea of "Nope." Filling out the supporting cast, you can expect to see Kiernan Shipka ("Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"), Maura Tierney ("ER"), Darryl McCormack ("Good Luck to You Leo Grande"), Sasha Lane ("American Honey"), Harry Hadden-Paton ("The Crown"), Katy O'Brian ("Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania"), Tunde Adebimpe ("The Idol"), Nik Dodani ("Atypical"), and David Corenswet ("Pearl").

When it came to calling the shots behind the camera, "Twisters" attracted some pretty promising directors. The suits at Universal and Amblin first offered the gig to Joseph Kosinski of "Top Gun: Maverick" fame. However, due to scheduling conflicts with his Brad Pitt racing movie, "Formula One," Kosinski had to bow out of the project.

After that, studio execs considered several intriguing names. There was Dan Trachtenberg of "Prey" and "10 Cloverfield Lane," Travis Knight of "Missing Link" and "Kubo and the Two Strings," and Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, who directed the Alex Honnold documentary "Free Solo."

But ultimately, the brass went down a completely different and quite interesting path with Lee Isaac Chung. Chung is a phenomenal filmmaker who earned an Oscar nomination for best director, thanks to 2020's "Minari." However, "Minari" is a quiet tale of Korean immigrants trying to run a farm in Arkansas — not exactly the kind of movie you'd associate with a big blockbuster.

Of course, it seems the folks in Hollywood see massive action potential with Chung. In addition to helming "Twisters," he directed an episode of "The Mandalorian" (Season 3's "The Convert"), and he's been brought aboard the Amblin-inspired Disney+ series "Skeleton Crew." Clearly a talented director, we can't wait to see what Chung can do with a massive summer tentpole.

Much like a supercell thunderstorm gives birth to a tornado, Mark L. Smith is the man responsible for "Twisters" touching down. Smith has a truly unique screenwriting record, with his most notable title being "The Revenant" — the mountain man revenge story that earned Leonardo DiCaprio his Oscar. He's also penned eclectic titles such as the George Clooney sci-fi drama "The Midnight Sky," the World War II zombie flick "Overlord," and the 2015 American remake of the extreme body horror movie "Martyrs."

As for "Twisters," Deadline reports that Smith found his champion in the one and only Steven Spielberg. Evidently, the living legend read the screenplay and absolutely freaked out. Thanks to Spielberg's endorsement, the movie got the greenlight and is heading to theaters in 2024.

Of course, the Spielberg connection doesn't stop there. The movie is being produced by Frank Marshall, a long-time Spielberg collaborator who's produced some of the biggest movies ever made. We're talking "Jurassic World," we're talking "Raiders of the Lost Ark," we're talking "The Sixth Sense." We're also talking "Poltergeist," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," and the "Bourne" movies. Plus, the man co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, so clearly, Marshall knows how to bring a big-time blockbuster to the silver screen.

"Twisters" will swirl its way into theaters on July 19, 2024, but if you're wanting to see the Finger of God sooner than that, then you can check out the original "Twister." The 1996 film focuses on two storm chasers with a complicated romantic past, but they can't let feelings get in the way when they plan to test a brand new instrument in the hopes of changing tornado science forever. 

With a rival storm chaser trying to beat them to the punch, our heroes will find themselves in the path of quite a few cyclones, and along the way, maybe they'll fall back in love ... assuming they don't get sucked up into the sky first. The Jan de Bont disaster movie is available to rent on Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, and Vudu.