Lee Isaac Chung is negotiating to direct Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Twisters, a sequel to 1996 storm-chasing blockbuster Twister.
Chung is best known for directing Minari, which was based on his childhood move to Arkansas, where his family lived in a trailer on the land on which his father, who emigrated with his mother from their native South Korea, hoped to build a farm.
The Twisters project will be co-financed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which released the original 1996 tentpole Twister, the disaster thriller from Amblin Entertainment. Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) has penned the screenplay for the sequel, and Frank Marshall (Jurassic World Dominion) is attached to produce through his Kennedy/Marshall company banner.
Twisters will follow up on the 1996 tentpole Twister, which starred Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton and pulled in around $494 million at the worldwide box office. The original film was helmed by Speed director Jan De Bont and executive produced by Steven Spielberg.
Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin penned the screenplay for Twister, which centered on a separated storm-chasing couple (Paxton and Hunt) who reunite to track the storm of the century in Oklahoma. The original Twister movie is remembered like Jurassic Park for is its innovative sound design, which had moviegoers feeling the tornadoes in their seats and in their teeth.
Twisters will be overseen by executive vp production Sara Scott and creative executive Jacqueline Garell for Universal Pictures and Ashley Jay Sandberg will oversee for Kennedy/Marshall.
Chung is represented by CAA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
Deadline Hollywood was the first to report on Lee Isaac Chung circling Twisters.
