Since Twisters was announced, it hasn’t been made clear if the film would have any real connections to the original 1996 Twister starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. The trailers for new film make it seem like it will be its own standalone entry at first glance, but a subtle Easter egg in Twisters’ second trailer may have revealed at least one key connection to the previous film.
Twisters’ newest trailer gave a greater look at the two new storm-chasers, the rough and tumble Tyler Owens, played by Glen Powell, and the more traditional scientist Kate Cooper, portrayed by Daisy Edgar-Jones. While the pair may not have any direct links to Paxton or Hunt’s characters, their technology appears to be as the new leads are seen preparing to use a pod titled Dorothy V in their escapades, as one eagle-eyed viewer pointed out on Reddit.
The Dorothy pods were a key part of the original Twister and the efforts of Paxton and Hunt’s characters in researching tornadoes with the hope of improving early-warning systems. Each pod contained hundreds of sensors that would be deployed into the tornado and gather data on the storm, itself, that could then be examined.
Hunt and Paxton’s crew deployed four Dorothy pods over the course of the film, with the fourth successfully deploying after the first three either failed or were destroyed by tornadoes.
The pair’s rival, portrayed by Cary Elwes, also attempted to deploy his own Dorothy-like device but was ultimately killed by the film’s climactic F5 tornado.
While it isn’t clear how connected this new iteration of Dorothy will be to the originals, the trailers hint that Dorothy V will not simply be meant for research. Powell and Jones’ characters hint that the new Dorothy is designed to try and disrupt tornadoes in progress, suggesting these teams are trying to develop a way to stop tornadoes in their tracks, outright.
Storm Season
Like the original, Twisters will follow the exploits of storm chasers in Oklahoma as the state is ravaged by a record-breaking tornado season.
On one side is Kate Cooper, a former-storm chaser working for the National Weather Service who gave up her chasing days after a particularly catastrophic chase that nearly killed her. She is lured back into the field one more time by her friend and colleague, Javi, to try and complete the work she left unfinished.
On the other side is the self-proclaimed “tornado wrangler” Tyler Owens, a brash but brave storm-chaser leading a more-motely crew enticed to the chase by their fascination with tornadoes, the thrill of the chase, and their social media fame.
The two teams will ultimately be forced to work together when the storm season engulfing Oklahoma only intensifies, putting everyone’s lives at risk alongside their work.
Twisters is scheduled to release in theaters on July 19, 2024.
