The Twister Sequel Will Touch Down In Summer 2024

Last week, we learned that a "Twister" sequel is in the works at Universal, and Amblin may have found a director. This week, the project continues to pick up speed, as we've caught wind of its release date: according to Variety, "Twisters" is set to touch down on July 19, 2024.

The sequel to the 1996 Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt-led disaster movie has been in the works for a while now, with Deadline breaking the news in October that "Twisters" has a script from "The Revenant" screenwriter Mark L. Smith that reportedly excited even Amblin head Steven Spielberg himself. Though the project's plot details are still under wraps, that outlet also reported that Hunt is being sought for a return, and the follow-up film may involve the daughter of her and Paxton's characters, meteorologist Jo and weatherman Bill.

The original "Twister" was a hit upon release, earning nearly $500 million at the box office with its story of storm-crossed lovers who reunite to chase a dangerous tornado in Oklahoma. The very existence of a sequel, made years after Paxton's passing and well over two decades after the original, has given some movie fans pause. But the project became more buzz-worthy last week when news broke that "Minari" filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung may be taking on the director's chair. Chung's past works aren't exactly in the disaster movie arena, but he certainly has an eye for emotional drama, which was an essential element of the first "Twister" film.

The summer release date also may be a promising sign: "Twisters" will roar into theaters during a bustling part of the July release schedule, just one week before Marvel's "Thunderbirds." It currently shares a release date with another franchise continuation, "Transformers: A New Generation," so it'll face some stiff competition at the box office.

No actors are currently attached to the project, but Hunt has mentioned her interest in a sequel before. In June 2021, she told Watch What Happens Live! (via IndieWire) that she tried to make a sequel co-written by herself and her "Blindspotting" costars Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, but that the project never got off the ground. Like everything else Diggs and Casal do, that would've been undeniably cool, but apparently, Hunt says that in 2020, the trio "could barely get a meeting" with an unnamed studio about their sequel idea.

The Universal project will be financed in part by Warner Bros. Pictures, with The Kennedy/Marshall Company's Frank Marshall set to produce. 

"Twisters" is set for a July 19, 2024, release date.