A Twister sequel could have come much sooner than Twisters in 2024 if it were up to Bill Paxton, but, sadly, the actor's idea for a second movie never actualized. The 1996 disaster film, directed by Jan de Bont and written by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin, starred Paxton as Bill Harding, one of the two leads. Beside him in the Twister cast was Helen Hunt, who played Jo. The two characters were storm chasers (and estranged husband and wife) who came together in an attempt to deploy their tornado research device ("Dorothy") by placing it in a tornado's path.
Twister was the second highest-grossing movie of 1996, earning over $495 million against an $88–92 million budget. Bill Paxton's disaster film also received Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound, but lost to Independence Day (1996's highest-grossing movie) and The English Patient, respectively.
Twister was a certified hit following its premiere in May 1996 as it received positive reviews and thrived at the box office. Despite its success, it took almost 20 years before a Twister sequel was made. One would think that studios would jump on the chance to take advantage of the film's accomplishments, but a second project featuring the original cast seemingly wasn't meant to be. Paxton began working on a possible Twister sequel in the late 2000s and early 2010s, though, that would have been quite different from the one starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Bill Paxton Pitched An R-Rated Twister Sequel Inspired By The 1925 Tri-State Tornado
The Proposed Twister Sequel Would Have Been In 3D
During an interview with Bullz-Eye in January 2010, Bill Paxton shared his idea for a Twister sequel that he was working on. Fourteen years after the premiere of the disaster film, a second movie was seemingly a very real possibility, and it was planned to be in 3D. Paxton explained:
"I've been promoting a sequel to Twister right now ... I went on a trip last spring, down to the Ozarks ... we started tracking the trail of the most famous tornado that ever hit the country, which was the Tri-State Tornado of 1925 ... So we just did that to kind of get some ideas, and from that I kind of extrapolated an idea for a sequel. And I kind of put that together into a format, and now we're kind of waiting to see if that's going to move forward."
The Tri-State tornado was one of 12 in the Midwestern and Southern United States during the 1925 Tri-State tornado outbreak. It was one of the deadliest outbreaks ever recorded but lasted only a few days (from March 17 to March 19). As Paxton mentions, the Tri-State tornado was a mile wide when it first touched down in the Ozark region of Missouri on March 18. The tornado lasted for almost four hours as it made its way over the Mississippi River into Southern Illinois before finally dissipating in Southwestern Indiana. Its track was 219 miles wide, the longest ever recorded.
Twister Cast | Role |
|---|---|
Bill Paxton | Bill Harding |
Helen Hunt | Jo Harding |
Jami Gertz | Dr. Melissa Reeves |
Cary Elwes | Jonas Miller |
Lois Smith | Aunt Meg |
Philip Seymour Hoffman | Dusty Davies |
Alan Ruck | Rabbit |
Ultimately, 695 people died during the Tri-State tornado on March 18, 1925. As a result, it was the deadliest tornado in United States history and the second deadliest in the world. Given its impact and place in history, it's not surprising that Paxton would want to use the infamous tornado as inspiration for Twister 2. Paxton also mentioned during the interview that his idea for a Twister sequel would have a much darker tone compared to the first film, which makes sense given the actor wanted to use the Tri-State tornado as inspiration.
Bill Paxton's Twister Sequel Would've Involved James Cameron
Paxton Was A Frequent Collaborator With Cameron
Although Bill Paxton never mentions his name in the Bullz-Eye interview, renowned filmmaker James Cameron was said to be involved with Paxton's proposed Twister sequel, likely as a producer (and perhaps as a director or writer). Paxton and Cameron had a history as they previously worked on several movies together. Their partnership began when Paxton had a minor role in Cameron's 1984 sci-fi film The Terminator.
Related
Twisters 2's 10 Original 1996 Movie Characters That Can Still Return
With the success of Twisters, a sequel could happen, meaning that the film needs to finally bring back these characters from the 1996 original.
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Just a couple of years after The Terminator, Paxton and Cameron reunited on the set of Aliens. Cameron directed and wrote the 1986 Alien sequel, while Paxton starred as Hudson, a performance that earned him a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. Afterward, Paxton and Cameron collaborated on two more movies — True Lies (Cameron directed, wrote, and produced the action comedy and Paxton played Simon) and Titanic (Cameron directed, wrote, and produced the epic romance disaster film, while Paxton starred as Brock Lovett, a treasure hunter exploring the wreck of the Titanic).
Why Bill Paxton's 3D Twister Sequel Didn't Happen
Paxton Died In 2017
Sadly, Bill Paxton's idea for Twister 2 never came to fruition. Pre-production on the film was ultimately canceled following Paxton's sudden and tragic death in February 2017. The actor died of a stroke after two open-heart surgeries, and his dream of returning to the Twister universe ceased to exist. However, Paxton's legacy lives on, even in the 2024 Twister sequel, which wasn't inspired by the Tri-State tornado, rated R, or shown in 3D, but did feature a cameo from Paxton's son, James Paxton.
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In Twister, Bill and Jo Harding, advanced storm chasers on the brink of divorce, must join together to create an advanced weather alert system by putting themselves in the cross-hairs of extremely violent tornadoes. Jo's childhood was stricken by the trauma of losing her father to a deadly F5 tornado, setting her on the path of a storm chaser. Having developed a new technology with her team named "Dorothy," Jo seeks to make Tornadoes more predictable to give people a chance to make it to safety. Jo's obsession created a rift between her husband, but new breakthroughs may bring them back together as the two pursue their greatest challenge yet - an incoming system that will produce yet another F5.
- Director
- Jan de bont
- Release Date
- May 10, 1996
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Writers
- Anne-Marie Martin , Michael Crichton
- Cast
- Jami Gertz , Helen Hunt , Cary Elwes , Bill Paxton , Phillip Seymour Hoffman , Alan Ruck , Todd Field , Jeremy Davies
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
Source: Bullz-Eye
