Lee Isaac Chung on Why Helen Hunt’s Character Wasn’t in ‘Twisters’: ‘She’s Out There Chasing’ Tornadoes

[Editor’s note: The following story contains mild spoilers for “Twisters”]

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Lee Isaac Chung’s “Twisters” hits theaters this weekend, 28 years after the release of Jan de Bont’s original “Twister.”

But while the classic branding will no doubt inspire some disaster movie fans to check the film out in theaters, many have pointed out that the sequel stands on its own without relying on many direct connections to the 1996 first film.

Still, some have noticed that one scene in “Twisters” felt like a natural opportunity to bring back one of the original film’s biggest stars — and expressed puzzlement when that didn’t happen. Many fans believed that Daisy Edgar-Jones’ Kate could have been the daughter of Dr. Jo Harding, the storm chaser that Helen Hunt played in “Twister.” But when Kate returns to Oklahoma to visit her mother in “Twisters,” her mother turns out to be an unrelated character played by Maura Tierney.

In a recent interview with The Wrap , Chung explained that he didn’t like the idea of Hunt’s character turning into a homebody who wasn’t focusing on her passion for chasing tornados.

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“I just felt like that is not what I want to see Jo Harding doing years from now,” Chung said. “Right after seeing that first film, I imagined, ‘What is Jo Harding up to now?’ She’s out there chasing storm[s], not at the farm complaining that her daughter’s not calling her. And so that was really the basis of why, ‘OK , it’s got to be someone else.’”

Chung’s remarks echo comments he previously made to IndieWire , when he said that he did not speak to Hunt or de Bont before embarking on his sequel.

“I don’t know what [Hunt’s] version was, and unfortunately, I have not been able to talk to her nor Jan de Bont nor to anyone from the cast about the movie,” Chung said. “We have a few people who worked on the original in our crew. When I read the script [by Mark L. Smith with a story by Joseph Kosinski], I really loved the approach they were taking with it, that it was going to be a new story, with new characters and an entirely new science project … I really believe Helen Hunt is a genius, and I would have loved to work with her. That choice was just never a part of me coming on board with this, however.”

“Twisters” is now in theaters from Universal.