Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment are working together to resurrect the hit 1996 disaster blockbuster action film “Twister” for a new generation, as they’ve previously tapped “Minari” director Lee Isaac Chung to helm “Twisters.” Actress Daisy Edgar-Jones was recently cast in the studio tentpole, and they’ve now found their leading man to star opposite.
According to Deadline, Universal has selected “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Devotion” actor Glen Powell to take the co-starring role alongside Edgar-Jones. Powell, of course, is a rising star with a solid/charming on-screen presence even when playing jerks like Hangman in the “Top Gun” sequel that became a billion-dollar hit for Paramount, which helped elevate the actor’s profile to an international audience.
The original script for “Twister” was penned by the late screenwriter/author Michael Crichton, who was behind franchises like “Jurassic Park” and “Westworld.” “Twister” focused on a group of thrill-seeking storm chasers looking to use the advanced technology of the time to map/learn various secrets about how tornados work and how best to warn the public with an earlier alert system.
Just yesterday, we covered comments from actor/writer Daveed Diggs suggesting there were “shady reasons” surrounding his rejected version of a direct sequel of “Twister” that would have had original star Helen Hunt eyeing the director’s chair and attempting to put a diverse spin on the material. The pair recently worked together on the series incarnation of “Blindspotting.” While Diggs didn’t give any real details on his gripes with the studio, it’s starting to become transparent with casting what he might have alluded to.
It’s not terribly surprising the acclaimed filmmaker was recruited for “Twisters,” given he has recently worked with Lucasfilm for their “Star Wars” shows on Disney+, such as “The Mandalorian” and “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.” Those series are quickly becoming a blockbuster boot camp for directors that might not have a huge experience with top-level visual effects and working at that scale, helping build confidence to take on bigger projects afterward.