Glen Powell has become one of the hottest stars in Hollywood since appearing in Top Gun: Maverick, and the actor is likely hoping that his newest film Twisters is as big a hit at the box office as the Top Gun sequel. The two movies have a lot in common on paper, even beyond the fact that Powell is appearing in them both, and it seems that’s been the case from very early in development.
Speaking with Empire, Glen Powell makes it clear that he thinks Twisters is going to be one hell of a movie. He seems to be quite sure audiences will love it, and one of the reasons for that is that the production’s approach to making Twisters was very similar to the way they approached making Maverick and audiences surely loved that one. Powell explained…
We knocked this movie out of the park! I remember when we were breaking Top Gun: Maverick, we went back to the original to figure out: ‘What do audiences want from a Top Gun movie? What are the set-pieces and characters that feel wholly Top Gun?’ It was the same on Twisters. Our film honors the first one, but stands on its own merits.
Powell says that looking back at the original film, making an examination of what worked about it, was a major concern. Certainly, while nobody wants to make a sequel that’s too much like the previous film, audiences are going to have expectations regarding what they will see in a Top Gun movie or a Twister movie, and the filmmakers want to make sure the audience gets that.
The Twisters trailer teased us with connections to the original. Director Lee Isaac Chung has also discussed specific elements from Twister they wanted to be sure were in the sequel
At the same time, decades have passed since the previous movie. Many may come into the sequel having never seen the original, so the new movie has to be able to be its own thing too. Powell believes that the sequel can achieve that balance well.
Both Top Gun and Twister were massive box-office hits when they were first released. The movies then spent decades with the specter of a sequel hanging over them. In both cases, it was quite surprising that sequels took so long to come together, and the fact that both of them will include Glen Powell is yet another interesting connection. Powell was apparently also offered a role in the new Jurassic World movie, so being part of movie franchises that first became popular decades ago may be his new brand.
One thing Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick probably won’t have in common is a final box office tally. While Twisters is certainly expected to do well, it will be quite a tall order for it to match the nearly $1.5 billion global take of the Top Gun sequel. Twisters could still be a massive hit, making Glen Powell an even bigger star.