This summer, movie fans around the world will take cover indoors at crowded movie theaters to watch Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones in Twisters, the breathtaking sequel to the 1996 classic Twister starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt.
With the long-anticipated sequel set to premiere in theaters, let's take a look at seven bold predictions for this movie.
Twisters must pay homage to El Reno
A lot has happened in the storm-chasing world since the original Twister movie was released in 1996. Chasing twisters has become more popular than ever, but it has also become more dangerous than ever. Nowhere was this more exemplified than in the deadly El Reno F5 tornado in 2013 that killed veteran storm chaser Tim Samaras and the TWISTEX crew.
Samaras was known as one of the most professional, cautious, and risk-averse chasers in the business, which made it even more shocking that his team got caught up in a twister and ultimately lost their lives.
Given that the trailer for the movie featured a water tower with the name El Reno scrawled across it, they may be hinting at an easter egg in the movie referencing or paying homage to Samaras and the TWISTEX team.
There is a cameo appearance from real-life storm chasers
Storm chasing has exploded in popularity since Twister originally touched down in 1996. Guys such as Reed Timmer, Jim Cantore, and Sean Casey have all gained fame from chasing tornadoes. It would only make sense to include at least some references to these real-life chasers. Ideally, the movie should feature them in some way. They could just be extras at a restaurant or someplace where the team encounters them along the road.
However, the best option would be to have a brief cameo where they cross paths as a rival chase team. It doesn’t even have to be a long scene, as the real-life chase team could say they are pursuing a different storm and then quickly head off in a different direction. It just makes too much sense to feature them in the movie in some capacity.
The film features a cameo from the original cast
Although it appears unlikely as of right now, it would be a great surprise for fans if we got to see at least one of the characters from the original movie make a cameo in the upcoming film alongside Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Unfortunately, Bill Paxton passed away in 2017, but with the power of CGI, it's always possible they could do some sort of flashback involving Bill's character.
The more likely route would be to bring back Helen Hunt, who would reprise her role as Jo Harding. Given that the actress expressed interest in making a sequel several years ago, it's possible that things could have been worked out behind the scenes for her to make an appearance.
Tyler and Kate end up together
The plot of the original Twister was ultimately a love story built around chasing tornadoes. It would be interesting to see the sequel take a similar approach and have Tyler (Glen Powell) and Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) end up together, or at least some romantic tension between the duo.
It’s possible the film is planning to go this route, and they might have already teased this angle of the story. one scene that has been highly featured In trailers and promotional materials includes Kate saying we never had a chance in a solemn voice, followed by Tyler asking her, “Do you want one?”
This could be about anything, and the clip is clearly edited to avoid context so that viewers can't tell if they are talking about her plan to stop tornadoes or the two of them ending up together. However, from Tyler's voice in the look on his face, it seems to be more of a personal conversation than a professional conversation.
It also appears that the two are on some sort of date when tragedy strikes in the form of a deadly nighttime twister.
Twisters will make more than $60 million during opening weekend
Twisters appears to feature all the elements of a classic summertime disaster blockbuster movie. It has energy and can bring limitless excitement into a crowded theater with breathtaking scenes of deadly tornadoes and close calls.
The movie also brings a sense of fear that can create exhilaration and euphoria for audiences, creating the perfect ingredients for a summer date night movie. It features the love story angle in the classic pairing of a country boy and a city girl.
Increased public interest in tornadoes will drive the film's success
This movie could aim even higher than the level of commercial success that the original Twister received. Think about what it was like when Jaws first came out. That was a classic summer disaster film, a blockbuster that everybody just had to say. That terrifying yet beautiful film still evokes many of the same feelings in viewers to this day.
If Twisters is done right, it could reach that same status. The original 1996 film was a hit, but it was also a bit of a sleeper as tornadoes and storm chasing did not have the widespread interest, popularity, and acclaim that they do today.
Since the original Twister came out, numerous inspiring yet deadly F5 tornadoes have made national headlines throughout the United States. We’re talking about the 1999, 2003, and 2013 Moore tornadoes as well as the 2013 El Reno tornado.
The 1999 Ridge Creek Moore tornado generated the highest wind speed ever recorded on earth at 321 mph. The 2003 storm was part of a larger super-sale system and tornado outbreak that lasted for more than a week, devastating the great plains and the areas further east that weren’t used to getting hit by tornadoes.
In fact, Moore, Oklahoma has become known throughout the country as a tornado magnet, because of how many powerful and deadly twisters have struck the city in recent memory.
Just this year, there have been several deadly tornado outbreaks throughout the southeast and midwest. All of these storms combined with the fame achieved by some stormchasers could help propel twisters to commercial heights that even the original film didn’t quite reach.
The increasing frequency and power of the storms, combined with the somewhat recent shift that has seen them hitting areas outside of what was traditionally known as Tornado Alley, has greatly increased public awareness of the storms. There’s no way that Twisters will be a sleeper film now. If it flops, which is unlikely, it’s simply because it wasn’t good enough.
The film is being marketed aggressively, including an ad spot in the Super Bowl. Glen Powell is one of the brightest upcoming action stars around, flying high after the success of films, such as Top Gun: Maverick, Hit Man, and Anyone but You.
Glen Powell’s role as the headlining star combined with the investment in aggressive marketing campaigns and an increased interest in tornadoes should propel Twisters to immense box office success.
Climate change should be addressed, but probably won’t be
It would be a disservice to the world and science if this Glen Powell-led movie didn't take the opportunity to reflect on climate change and how pollution is fueling increasingly powerful and deadly storms all around the world. It's difficult to deny that this is happening when we have already seen numerous outbreaks of large and deadly tornadoes in the past two decades and when this year has already seen a number of large and deadly tornado storms.
Another thing that would be interesting would be for the writers to explore how climate change has contributed to the shifting of Tornado Alley, with large and dangerous storms striking states such as Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Nebraska, and even Pennsylvania with increasing frequency.
This seems to be somewhat unlikely, as it appears that the writers want to keep the movie focused on Oklahoma. That's understandable, as the state was the epicenter of Tornado Alley and is viewed as quintessentially American. It would also pay homage to the original movie, which was based entirely within Oklahoma's borders.
The sad reality
The unfortunate reality is that it's doubtful the writers delve too far into climate change at all. With all of the ingredients for a summer blockbuster easily within their reach, the last thing that studio executives will want is for the movie to become a part of the culture wars and risk alienating segments of its audience.
That would be a shame to let financial goals take away from creative talent, particularly when the movie is based around scientists and the art of studying the weather. Unfortunately, though, that's the reality we live in and it would be surprising if this movie takes a close look at how climate change is fueling deadly weather.
Twisters is in theaters.
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