Warning: This article contains spoilers for Twisters.
Twisters stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones have revealed that a note from Steven Spielberg changed the movie's ending, but they both understood the reasons behind the decision.
The movie ends with Tyler (Powell) answering the call of his slogan — "If you feel it, chase it" — by running through an airport to catch Kate (Edgar-Jones) before she leaves, but the scene breaks with rom-com conventions and doesn't end with a dramatic kiss. The two actors told Collider why they stopped short of a smooch.
"I think it's a Spielberg note, wasn't it?" Edgar-Jones recalled of the decision. "Do you know what it is? I think it stops the film feeling too cliched, actually. I think there's something really wonderful about it feeling like there's a continuation. This isn't the end of their story. They're united by their shared passion for something.
"I also think that this movie is not about them finding love," Powell added in the joint interview. "It's returning Kate to the thing that she loves, which is storm chasing. So that's what you have at the end of the movie. They share this thing, and her passion is reinvigorated, and her sense of home is reinvigorated. I feel like a kiss would be sort of unrepresentative of the right goal at the end of the movie. And it is a good Spielberg note. It's why that kid is still in this game. It's amazing."
An alternate version of the scene in which the two characters shared a passionate kiss was filmed despite ending up on the cutting room floor. It has since leaked online, prompting a lot of people to call for the "kiss cut" of Twisters to get a release.
WHY DID THEY CUT THE KISS pic.twitter.com/is7XhI9iu9
— zara ??? TWISTERS SPOILERS (@seresinbradshaw) July 18, 2024
twisters spoilers ahead but
— bailey gesserit (@been_herde) July 20, 2024
movies used to have kissing ?????
Tell me why Twister ends with one of the best on screen make outs in history and there’s not a single kiss in Twisters pic.twitter.com/fgZxRcj0i9
— Wesley Bonner (@wesleybonner) July 21, 2024
*twisters spoilers*
— Film Class Guy #1 (@beforekermit) July 18, 2024
was surprised that glen and daisy’s characters didn’t kiss at the end but then I found they DID film a kiss but it got cut… RELEASE THE FULL CUT LEE ISAAC CHUNG! pic.twitter.com/7aSnKtWpgW
Release the kiss cut!! #Twisters pic.twitter.com/MnbPIiqVKw
— Olivia Truffaut-Wong (@iWatchiAm) July 20, 2024
[twisters spoiler below!!!!!]
— JOANNA (@Jobazzle) July 18, 2024
WHO LEFT THE KISS SCENE BETWEEN GLEN AND DAISY'S CHARACTERS ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR I'M????? pic.twitter.com/gt3YqejZe9
RELEASE THE TWISTERS KISS CUT pic.twitter.com/L6RU0R4yYq
— hot glen summer pr manager ??? (@kelsospade) July 21, 2024
The lack of a kiss between the two leads may have stirred up a whirlwind of emotions, but it didn't put the movie under too much of a dark cloud. Twisters put in a powerful performance at the box office with $123 million globally in the first weekend it touched down in theaters and was met with generally positive reviews from critics.
Twisters was written by Mark L. Smith and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. IGN gave the movie an 8 out of 10, saying it is "less visually appealing than its predecessor, but more emotionally engaging" and "has charm for days," resulting in "a wildly fun and effective summer blockbuster worth watching on the biggest and loudest screen."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.