A rejected story idea for Twister 2 killed off Helen Hunt’s main character. Released in 1996, Twister is a disaster film directed by Dutchman Jan de Bont and executively produced by Steven Spielberg. With a script from Jurassic Park writer Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin, Twister follows a group of daring storm chasers headlined by Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. The late great Philip Seymour Hoffman also appears in one of his early roles as a member of the team trying to deploy a meteorological research device during an F5 tornado outbreak in Oklahoma.
Twister ended up grossing $495 at the worldwide box office, which was the second-highest-grossing film that year behind Independence Day, the tenth-highest-grossing movie in history up until that point in 1996, and Warner Bros.' top earner at the time of its release. As with any film this successful, it was expected that a sequel would soon follow, but alas, one never happened. In June of 2020, it was reported that a Twister reboot was in development from Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, but there hasn't been much more news on that front. With Twister's 25th anniversary having passed last month, fans of the classic film are still clamoring for a true sequel.
While promoting her upcoming role in the Starz series Blindspotting, Hunt revealed her plans for a sequel to Twister to Collider. The actor revealed that it was difficult to get studios to meet with her to discuss the idea, which featured "all Black and brown storm chasers," and saw Hunt in the director's chair. The script would have also been written by Hunt, along with Blindspotting producers Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, and would have killed off her character, Dr. Jo Harding, early on. Read Hunt's full quote below:
I tried to get it made. With Daveed [Diggs] and Rafael [Casal] and me writing it, and all Black and brown storm chasers, and they wouldn’t do it. I was going to direct it. We could barely get a meeting, and this is in June of 2020 when it was all about diversity. It would have been so cool.
During the interview, Hunt also said she would have liked to return for the sequel as an “elder, tired, haggard” version of Dr. Jo Harding. Still, she would have died in a tornado during the opening scene, which would have allowed the rest of the cast to shine while Hunt instead focused on her work behind the camera. Hunt's idea for a sequel certainly sounds intriguing, but she could not pique any studio's interest.
With multiple classic films like Top Gun and Ghostbusters getting legacy sequels, it is puzzling why Hunt could not garner any interest in one for Twister. Though she did not reveal the name of any studios who passed on her idea, Hunt would have likely gone to Warner Bros. first, considering they produced and distributed the original in 1996, and then possibly to Universal Pictures, who is handling the reboot. While Hollywood studios passed on the idea, a Hunt-direct sequel to Twister with a diverse cast is likely to draw some interest from fans.
Source: Collider