'Twisters' stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos storming back to OKC

After spending months in Oklahoma making the movie last year, "Twisters" stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos are sweeping back into Sooner State for a red-carpet occasion.

The eagerly awaited new movie's lead actors, along with director Lee Isaac Chung and executive producer Ashley Jay Sandberg, are expected to attend a special invitation-only screening and red-carpet event Monday, July 15 at Harkins Bricktown 16 in downtown Oklahoma City.

The long-awaited follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster "Twister," which also filmed in Oklahoma, is opening in theaters July 19. The summer tentpole movie is being distributed by Universal Pictures domestically and by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally.

What is 'Twisters' about and where did the movie film in Oklahoma?

"Twisters" is a new, contemporary chapter to the 1990s smash "Twister." It's not a true sequel that continues the first movie's plot, and it doesn't feature the original film's characters.

A London native taking on an Oklahoma accent, Edgar-Jones stars in the follow-up film as Kate Carter, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City.

She is lured back into storm season on the open plains by her friend, Javi (Ramos) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. Out in the field in the midst of record tornadic conditions, they cross paths with Tyler Owens (Powell), a charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew — the more dangerous the better.

Directed by Chung, who previously filmed his Academy Award-winning semi-autobiographical immigrant drama "Minari" in the Tulsa area in 2019, "Twisters" was made on an estimated budget of $200 million.

Principal photography on "Twisters" got underway in Oklahoma City on May 8, 2023. The production engaged with multiple communities statewide, including El Reno, Chickasha, Midwest City, Spencer, Kingfisher, Calumet, Hinton, Fairview, Okarche, Kremlin, Burbank and Pawhuska.

In addition to the state’s film program, the production also used local film incentives administered by the newly launched Oklahoma City Film & Creative Industries Office, along with certified soundstage infrastructure at downtown OKC's Prairie Surf Studios.

How is 'Twisters' predicted to perform at the box office?

"Twisters" is predicated to hit big at the box office. The action-packed disaster epic is tracking for an opening weekend of $55 million in North America, although some industry watchers think its initial box-office haul could be even higher, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Along with strong reviews, starry premiere events in Miami, Florida, in London and in Los Angeles have helped generate a whirlwind of excitement for "Twisters."

Cinema superstar Tom Cruise made a splash by attending the European premiere July 8 at Cineworld Leicester Square in London, in support of Powell, his co-star in the 2022 blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick," another long-awaited follow-up film, or "legacy sequel."

While Edgar-Jones has earned praised from Vogue for "whipping up a fashion storm" on the "Twisters" red carpets with her high-class looks, Powell has been charming the world at the premieres, especially when he turned up at the July 11 Los Angeles event with his dog Brisket, which he adopted from the L.A.-based Labelle Foundation in summer 2023 while shooting the movie in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Film + Music Office and the Oklahoma City Film & Creative Industries Office have been working with Universal Pictures to organize Monday's OKC premiere. Oklahoma Film + Music Office Director Jeanette Stanton told The Oklahoman that more than 300 people have RSVP'd for the invitation-only screening.

Jill Simpson, executive director of the Oklahoma City Film & Creative Industries Office, said it's been exciting to help with an OKC premiere for such a big Oklahoma-made movie.

"The only challenge is not being able to invite everybody that played a role in it, due to all kinds of constraints for the size of the screening room. I just wish we could have included every single person," Simpson said.

"It takes a village to make all these things happen ... and the contributions of so many people: the crew, the business owners, the people that close streets, that kind of thing. I'm thrilled, but it's a community victory, really, and a state victory."

OKC Mayor David Holt is one of the Sooner State dignitaries planning to attend Monday's invitation-only event.

"My recollection of the original film's impact on our state was that it was such a novelty to see a film produced here that it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience for locals. It's a little different this time around, because now we are seeing one major production just follow the next," he said in statement to The Oklahoman.

"Even though we're seeing a lot of major productions and movie stars these days, I think the 'Twister' series will always have a special place in our hearts."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones returning to OKC for 'Twisters' premiere