Twisters release date, plot, cast and everything we know

Hold onto something because a sequel to one of the '90s most memorable disaster movies is heading our way, with Twisters set for a summer 2024 theatrical release.

Starring Helen Hunt, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman and the late, great Bill Paxton, Du Bont’s movie Twister was one of the most successful of the decade, inspiring its own theme park ride at Universal Studios and becoming one of the first movies ever to hit DVD in America’s most dangerous tornados. Their goal? To track them with state-of-the-art equipment in order to aid their ever-evolving research.

Read more: Jan de Bont interview: The man who shot the Nineties from 'Flatliners' to 'Twister'

Starring Helen Hunt, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman and the late, great Bill Paxton, Du Bont’s movie was one of the most successful of the decade, inspiring its own theme park ride at Universal Studios and becoming on of the first movies ever to hit DVD in America.

Now, more than 25 years later, audiences are invited to return to this edge-of-your-seat world with a new cast of characters and a new director at the helm. Here’s everything we know so far about tornado sequel Twisters.

When will Twisters be released?

Twisters will be released in UK cinemas on Friday, 19 July.

The movie will be released during the same month as Despicable Me 4 and the hotly anticipated Deadpool and Wolverine. Will it sweep them off their feet? Only time will tell.

Twisters trailer

“You don’t face your fears, you ride ‘em.”

The first Twisters teaser trailer dropped on Super Bowl Sunday 2024 and wasted no time dragging us into the eye of the storm.

Once there, we were briefly introduced to a new batch of characters, all of whom appeared willing to put it all on the line to get as close as they can to these staggering forces of nature.

Watch it below.

What is the plot of Twisters?

The original Twister mixed high-octane storm-chasing action with some real emotional heft, as unfortunate members of Du Bont’s cast sadly discovered the cost of tampering with Mother Nature’s wrath.

Twisters is directed by Minari filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung and looks set to serve up the same mix of nail-biting weather chaos and heartfelt drama. However, according to reports, that’s where its links to Du Bont’s original end.

While initially, it was believed that Twisters would follow the daughter of the tornado-obsessed duo played by Paxton and Hunt in the first film, this was later debunked. Instead, the sequel will stand alone and focus on a new group of heroes.

“It’s a separate story,” said Twisters screenwriter Mark L. Smith. “It’s not a continuation of the original. But it's just a real wild ride with some good, fun characters. Hopefully, we can tap into what the original had because that thing is just iconic.”

We also know that climate change will be a large part of Chung’s story, with Smith going on to explain “That’s one of the things we kind of tapped - and it’s true. I talked to so many storm experts, tornado experts, storm chasers, and rode around with some. Even the tornado season itself, because of climate change, what used to be tornado alley going through a certain stretch.

“It now extends so further east, and it's moving across, and the dates are wider, and the numbers are higher, and the storms themselves are more violent,” he added. “So we did use elements of that just to shine a light on it, as well, the causes and effects of climate change.”

The film’s official synopsis sheds some more light on what’s in store, explaining that it follows a former storm-chaser who’s “haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years.”

Now an expert on storm patterns, she’s pulled back into the game by a friend “to test a groundbreaking new tracking system” where she meets a wreckless but charming social-media storm-chaser who invites her to join his crew.

It continues to say: “As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed, and Kate, Tyler and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.”

Twisters cast

Normal People star Daisy Edgar Jones stars as Kate Cooper, the former storm obsessive who’s lured back into her dangerous tornado obsession by the wild Tyler Owens, played by Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell.

In The Heights star Anthony Ramos plays Javi, Kate’s pal who invites her back into the storm-chasing world to test out some new tech. American Honey star Sasha Lane will also appear as Tyler’s fellow storm-chaser Lily.

Meanwhile, Twisters will also feature appearances from Peaky Blinders’ Daryl McCormack, Nope’s Brandon Perea, Liar Liar’s Maura Tierney, The Mandalorian’s Katy O’Brien, The Crown’s Harry Hadden-Paton and James Gunn's new Superman David Corenswet.

Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani and ​​Tunde Adebimpe will also feature but details of each of these characters are currently under wraps.

Twisters will be released in cinemas on Friday, 19 July