This summer, the epic studio disaster movie returns with an adrenaline-pumping, seat-gripping, big-screen thrill ride called “Twisters” – that puts you in direct contact with one of nature’s most wondrous—and destructive—forces.
From the producers of the Jurassic, Bourne and Indiana Jones series comes Twisters, a current-day chapter of the 1996 blockbuster, Twister. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the Oscar-nominated writer-director of Minari, Twisters stars Golden Globe nominee Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing, Normal People) and Glen Powell (Anyone But You, Top Gun: Maverick) as opposing forces who come together to try to predict, and possibly tame, the immense power of tornadoes.
Leading the mantle is Kate Cooper (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones), a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Powell), the charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew, the more dangerous the better. 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.
To play Kate, director Lee Isaac Chung cast Daisy Edgar-Jones, who gained worldwide fame for her breakout turns in the film Where the Crawdads Sings, the acclaimed BBC comedy Normal People and FX’s crime drama Under the Banner of Heaven. “I was a fan of Daisy after watching Normal People and started following her career,” Chung says. “I’d always list her name anytime anyone asked what actors I’d like to work with. Luckily, Daisy was interested in working with me, too. We bonded over the fact that both of us were wanting a different kind of filmmaking challenge after having done more personal, indie-spirited projects. As soon as I met her, I felt like I had found my ideal collaborator and knew she would nail this part.”
Edgar-Jones came to Twisters as an earnest fan of its predecessor. “I grew up in England, where we don’t have much of anything in the way of treacherous weather besides the occasional thick fog, so Twister was a transporting, exciting, scary thrill ride that captured my imagination,” Edgar-Jones says. “When I heard they were making a new chapter, and that Isaac was making it, I was excited by the idea of someone like him, with his filmmaking sensibility, taking on material like this and seeing what he would do with it. I was begging my agents to get me the script, and sure enough, I loved it. The story honored the first film in so many ways, from a strong female lead to an ensemble of rich, fascinating characters. And it created this amazing new modern world of storm chasers that was so resonant, touching, funny and just plain fun, I knew I had to be involved.”
In addition to getting a shot at playing an action hero in a major film franchise, Edgar-Jones was captivated by the emotional drama of Kate’s arc. “When we first meet her, Kate’s this superhero storm chaser, passionate about figuring out how to weaken tornadoes, doing this good work with her best friends,” Edgar-Jones says. “But then she suffers a tragedy that leaves her humbled, rocked by PTSD, and closed off to other people. The story is how she recovers from that by re-connecting with home and connecting with new people. It’s about a person coming back to life, returning to themselves, and I found that meaningful and powerful.”
Twisters also stars Golden Globe nominee Anthony Ramos (In the Heights) as Javi, Nope’s Brandon Perea, Golden Globe winner Maura Tierney (Beautiful Boy) and Sasha Lane (American Honey), along with David Corenswet (upcoming Superman: Legacy), Daryl McCormack (Peaky Blinders), Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Nik Dodani (Atypical).
Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment Present a Lee Isaac Chung Film, Twisters, which is distributed internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures. It will release in cinemas in India on Thursday, July 18 in English & Hindi. Also in IMAX.
