Although Twisters is striking up all kinds of nostalgia for fans of the original, the sequel attempts to do away with the romantic comedy conventions of the ’90s.
Director Lee Isaac Chung explained why, although it was filmed, he didn’t end up using a shot of Daisy Edgar-Jones‘ Kate Cooper and Glen Powell‘s Tyler Owens kissing in the final scene after he runs through an airport to find her.
“I feel like audiences are in a different place now in terms of wanting a kiss or not wanting a kiss. I actually tried the kiss, and it was very polarizing — and it’s not because of their performance of the kiss,” Chung told Entertainment Weekly. “This [no-kiss shot] was the other option that I had filmed on the day, and I got to say, ‘I like it better. I think it’s a better ending.’”
Although Powell joked that he’s “taking a little offense” to the scene going unused as he assumed it was “just my abilities” that turned Chung off, the director reasoned that the ultimate ending gives Kate more purpose.
The ending that made the final cut sees the pair running off to chase another storm together. “If it ends on the kiss, then it makes it seem as though that’s what Kate’s journey was all about — to end up with a kiss,” explained Chung. “But instead, it’s better that it ends with her being able to continue doing what she’s doing with a smile on her face.”
Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones in ‘Twisters’
Universal/Everett
Edgar-Jones appreciates her character’s journey as well. “It felt nice and refreshing to not have to end up on that beat because what you’re ending it on is two individuals who are so equal in their love and interest and intelligence and understanding of weather,” she said.
Twisters, now playing in theaters, stars Powell as Tyler, a reckless social media star known for storm-chasing, and Edgar-Jones as Kate, a meteorologist and former storm chaser reeling from a personal loss. The sequel to 1996’s Jan de Bont-helmed Twister also stars Anthony Ramos, Maura Tierney and David Corenswet.