Twisters (Daisy Edgar-Jones To Star)

Universal Pictures is looking to reboot the classic tentpole “Twister,” and looks to have found a director to weather the storm.

Sources tell Variety that Universal Pictures is developing a reboot of the 1996 blockbuster and is in negotiations with “Top Gun: Maverick” helmer Joseph Kosinski to direct.

Frank Marshall will produce the pic and the studio is currently meeting with writers to pen the script.

Plot details are vague on this latest version, but the original film starred Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, who play storm chasers and a couple on the brink of divorce. They team up to chase tornadoes in order to deliver their advance weather alert system that has to be placed in the path of the Twister.

The film was not only a massive hit, bringing $494 million at the worldwide box office, but it also was applauded for its ground-breaking special effects. “Speed” director Jan De Boot helmed, Steven Spielberg exec produced and, in a rare occurrence, author Michael Crichton penned the script.

Senior VP of production Sara Scott will oversee for Universal.

Kosinski is no stranger to taking on big-budget projects, starting with his breakthrough directing debut on “Tron: Legacy.” The film scored at the box office, and led to Kosinski getting the Universal directing job “Oblivion,” which also resulted in his strong ties to Tom Cruise, who starred in the movie.

Cruise would eventually tap Kosinski to direct the long-awaited “Top Gun” sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.” The film stars Cruise, Miles Teller and Glen Powell and bows this December.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I watched this once when it was on TV a looooong time ago but I remember nothing about the plot. It's basically just them chasing a hurricane storm with some sort of device, right? There are so many movies like this now, why are they rebooting this?

Rusty wrote:I agree. Why watch this when you have the Sharknado franchise. Much more fun.

WyldeMan wrote:You both are upsetting me so much right now. Twister is the only storm movie that I even recognize in existence and worthy of repeat viewings of which I have seen it more times than I can count, hell I just watched it again last week on Netflix.

How dare you two sirs disrespect the late great Bill Paxton in the creme de la creme of the tornado chaser epics!

SHARKNADO!?!?!? Oh you mother fuckers!!!!!

FOR SHAME!!!

UltimateMarvel wrote:Obviously it wasn't that great because I don't remember much from it.

WyldeMan wrote:Considering you never watch any movies before 2000, I'm surprised you've even seen it once.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Considering you never watch any movies before 2000, I'm surprised you've even seen it once.

This is a 1996 movie, I'm starting to realize that I've seen more movies released before 2000 than I originally thought.

Tyger wrote:Twister is a classic, pretty sure I saw it in theaters or the drive-in back in the day.

Don’t need a new one. No Paxton, no deal.

Tyger wrote:Pretty sure he thought they were talking about the game and figured it’d be sexy

WyldeMan wrote:Next you're gonna tell me you've seen Demolition Man and Mallrats too.

WyldeMan wrote:Why do I feel like Abe agreed to this deal because he couldn't remember the original, so he just signed off on it and here we are.

Tyger wrote:Pretty sure he thought they were talking about the game and figured it’d be sexy

WyldeMan wrote:Twister is a very sexy game, I understand the confusion.

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment are meeting with directors hoping for a spring start on Twisters, a big-scale sequel to the 1996 storm-chasing blockbuster. Universal and Warner Bros are co-financing, with Universal taking the creative lead on the picture. Frank Marshall is producing.

Here’s what The Dish has heard: Amblin’s Steven Spielberg himself flipped for the script by The Revenant scribe Mark L. Smith, and his enthusiasm provided the impetus for the fast-tracked film. Top Gun: Maverick helmer Joseph Kosinski was going to direct, but he fell off the film when he committed to the Formula One racing movie vehicle for Brad Pitt that Apple acquired last June after a big auction earlier this year.

They haven’t locked in a new director yet, but among the helmers under consideration are the Oscar-winning Free Solo team of Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vaserhelyi; Dan Trachtenberg. who most recently directed the terrific Predator reinvention Prey and before that 10 Cloverfield Lane; and Travis Knight, the Laika chief whose recent animated films were Missing Link and Kubo and the Two Strings. There might be one or two others in the mix. Jan De Bont directed the original.

Sources said that the hope is to bring Helen Hunt back, with a drama that focuses on the daughter she had with the character played by the late Bill Paxton. She has caught the storm-chasing bug her parents had.

It’s not surprising they would want to revive Twister. The original film was a huge hit, grossing more than $494 million worldwide, pushing the envelope on visual effects and featuring a cast that included Phil Seymour Hoffman and Todd Field. The original was scripted by the late Michael Crichton. The film also hatched a theme-park attraction for Universal. The topic of climate change and extreme weather is more timely than ever, making the film less escapist fare as it’s too much of a reality.

Universal EVP Production Sara Scott will oversee for the studio, and Ashley Jay Sandberg will oversee for Kennedy/Marshall.

Following her critically acclaimed work in Normal People and Where The Crawdads Sing, Daisy Edgar-Jones has found her first studio tentpole as she is set to star in Twisters, a new chapter to the 1996 box-office hit for Amblin Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Lee Isaac Chung is on board to direct from a script by Mark L. Smith. The film will be co-financed by Warner Bros.

Starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, Twister was a massive hit in 1996, scoring more than $494 million at the worldwide box office, thanks in no small part to the film’s ground-breaking special effects. The original film was helmed by Speed director Jan De Bont and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by author Michael Crichton.  

Executive Vice President of Production Sara Scott and Creative Executive Jacqueline Garell will oversee for Universal Pictures, and Ashley Jay Sandberg will oversee for Kennedy/Marshall.

Edgar-Jones starred in Sony’s Where the Crawdads Sing, based on the New York Times best-selling novel, which grossed 136 million dollars globally. She also starred in the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated series Normal People, based on Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel. Her other credits include Fresh, starring opposite Sebastian Stan and the limited series Under the Banner of Heaven for which she was just nominated for a Golden Globe. She is currently filming the feature adaptation On Swift Horses directed by Daniel Minihan, starring opposite Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter and Diego Calva. She is represented by UTA, Hamilton Hodell, Ltd. in the U.K. and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern.