‘Twisters’ Director on Not Mentioning Climate Change: Movies Shouldn’t “Preach a Message”

(from left) Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Tyler (Glen Powell) in Twisters, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.

Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

The storm-chasing sequel Twisters is racking up positive reviews (currently at 84 percent “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes) and continues a much-needed summer of Glen Powell. The film chronicles an unprecedented outbreak of violent storms that tear through the American heartland and has characters spouting plenty of meteorological jargon.

But the one thing Twisters doesn’t have: A reference to climate change.

This is rather surprising. The possible impact of climate change on tornadoes is complicated and still being figured out, but scientists seem to agree tornado patterns are changing (with more tornadoes happening on the same days and more tornadoes happening outside of Tornado Alley, even if the number of tornadoes overall is unchanged). And, in any case, the American Red Cross recent told ABC News that “the climate crisis is forcing the American Red Cross to respond to nearly twice as many large disasters as we did a decade ago.”

So if you’re making a 2024 movie about a tornado outbreak the likes of which have never been seen before, there’s a rather convenient raison d’etre sitting right there. Simply have Daisy Edgar-Jones frantically look at some Doppler radar and mutter an actual study statistic like: “The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society projected a 6.6 percent nationwide increase in the frequency of supercell thunderstorms by the end of the century because of global warming — but nothing like this!” and suddenly your summer tornado popcorn movie has a bit of “but seriously tho, this could really happen” semi-scientific heft.

But to hear director Lee Isaac Chung tell it, even such a throwaway reference would be like beating red state moviegoers over the head with a DVD copy of An Inconvenient Truth.

“I just wanted to make sure that with the movie, we don’t ever feel like it is putting forward any message,” Chung told CNN. “I just don’t feel like films are meant to be message-oriented.”

There is a scene where a local farmer played by Maura Tierney says that storms and floods are becoming more frequent, but she doesn’t mention climate change.

“I think what we are doing is showing the reality of what’s happening on the ground … we don’t shy away from saying that things are changing,” he added. “I wanted to make sure that we are never creating a feeling that we’re preaching a message, because that’s certainly not what I think cinema should be about. I think it should be a reflection of the world.”

Or, at least, a reflection of studio caution during polarized times when looking for a summer movie hit.