Second ‘Twisters’ trailer gives a look behind Oklahoma-made film’s action

The second trailer for the summer blockbuster “Twisters,” the latest high-profile movie to be made in Oklahoma, dropped Wednesday, providing more insight into the story behind the stormy action film.

“Twisters” is billed as a current-day chapter of the 1996 blockbuster “Twister,” which also was filmed in Oklahoma. An Oscar-nominated hit, “Twister” followed Helen Hunt, the late Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as fictional storm chasers tracking a series of powerful tornadoes.

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who filmed his Academy Award-winning semi-autobiographical immigrant drama “Minari” in the Tulsa area in 2019, “Twisters” stars Golden Globe nominees Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Where the Crawdads Sing,” “Normal People”) and Glen Powell (“Anyone But You,” “Top Gun: Maverick”) as opposing forces who come together to try to predict — and possibly tame — the immense power of tornadoes.

What is ‘Twisters’ about?

After the first trailer for “Twisters,” which debuted in February during Super Bowl LVIII, focused on the disaster-movie action, the new preview finally reveals more of the film’s plot.

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Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi (Golden Globe nominee Anthony Ramos, “In the Heights”) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system.

There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Powell, leaning into his Texas roots), a charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew — the more dangerous the better.

As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed, and Kate, Tyler and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.

Which country music superstar has a new song previewed in the new ‘Twisters’ trailer?

The “Twisters” cast also includes Brandon Perea (“Nope”), Sasha Lane (“American Honey”), Daryl McCormack (“Peaky Blinders”), Kiernan Shipka (“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”), Nik Dodani (“Atypical”) and Golden Globe winner Maura Tierney (“Beautiful Boy”).

Mark L. Smith, whose credits include the Oscar-winning 2015 film “The Revenant,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, wrote the script for “Twisters.”

Oscar nominee Frank Marshall, known for famed franchises like the “Jurassic Park/World,” “Indiana Jones” and “Bourne” movies, is producing “Twisters” via his banner, Kennedy/Marshall Co. Marshall’s wife, Kathleen Kennedy, who is now president of Lucasfilm, was a lead producer on the original “Twister.” Marshall has ties to Oklahoma through the charity work he has done for many years in the Sooner State.

“I’ve been coming to Oklahoma City for over 16 years with the Mark Harmon Celebrity Baseball Team, so after the incredible experience we had filming ‘Twister’ in 1995, the decision to make Oklahoma the home to ‘Twisters’ was an easy choice,” Marshall said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be here to support and champion the many initiatives leading to growth and development here.”

“Twisters” also is produced by Patrick Crowley of the “Jurassic” and “Bourne” franchises.

The new “Twisters” trailer includes a snippet of country music superstar Luke Combs’ new song “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” a tune written for and featured in the movie. Combs announced Wednesday on social media that the full song and music video will debut May 16.

Where did ‘Twisters’ film in Oklahoma?

With an estimated budget of $200 million, principal photography on “Twisters” got underway in Oklahoma City on May 8, 2023.

Throughout 60 days of principal photography, “Twisters” engaged with multiple communities statewide, including El Reno, Chickasha, Midwest City, Spencer, Kingfisher, Calumet, Hinton, Fairview, Okarche, Kremlin, Burbank and Pawhuska.

In addition to the state’s film program, the production also used local film incentives administered by the newly launched Oklahoma City Film & Creative Industries Office as well as certified soundstage infrastructure at downtown OKC’s Prairie Surf Studios, which served as the primary base camp throughout filming.

“’Twisters’ is uniquely tied to our history, and Oklahoma City is honored to have welcomed the Universal (Pictures) team to our community for this important project,” said OKC Mayor David Holt in a statement. “On the heels of hosting the inaugural season of ‘Tulsa King,’ the filming of ‘Twisters’ continues the momentum of our city’s film industry. … We are committed to continuing this work and growing this sector of our economy.”