Helen Hunt wanted to Direct “Twister 2” with a diverse cast; the studio rejected it

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/32781765-helen-hunt-wanted-to-direct-%E2%80%9Ctwister-2%E2%80%9D-with-a-diverse-cast-the-studio-rejected-it-

Daveed Diggs confirmed in a new interview with Insider that he was attached to a “Twister” sequel that was being developed by original star Helen Hunt. The two actors star together on the Starz original series “Blindspotting.” Hunt confirmed on “Watch What Happens Live” in 2021 that she was writing an inclusive “Twister” sequel that she intended to direct, but the studio rejected her to the point of not even taking a meeting.

“Oh man, I’m not going to get into it mostly because I’m probably going to misremember things,” Diggs told Insider. “But all I’ll say is there was an opportunity where we were talking about that, and it didn’t happen, and the reasons that it didn’t happen are potentially shady. But shady in the way that we know the industry is shady.”

The original “Twister” was directed by Jan de Bont and grossed nearly $500 million during its 1996 theatrical release, which made it the second highest-grossing movie of that year. Hunt and Bill Paxton played amateur storm chasers researching a tornado outbreak in Oklahoma.

“I tried to get it made,” Hunt said back in 2021. “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.”

“There was a HBCU [historically Black college and university] where we wanted it to take place, and a rocket science club,” Hunt added. “In this one, they shoot the rockets into the tornado. It was going to be so cool.”

Universal Pictures is currently in development on a “Twister” sequel, but it does not involve Hunt or Diggs. The new film, titled “Twisters,” is being directed by “Minari” Oscar nominee Lee Isaac Chung. The screenplay is penned by Mark L. Smith, who co-wrote Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Oscar winner “The Revenant.” Daisy Edgar-Jones, best known for “Normal People” and “Where the Crawdads Sing,” is starring in the lead role. “Twisters” is set to release theatrically on July 19, 2024.