Audiences remember 1996's Twister for its spectacle and endearing, relatable characters. The trailers for Twisters promise to deliver the same with an all-new ensemble of tornado chasers.

Twisters may not have direct ties to the 1996 original, but the trailers have at least confirmed a common link: the Dorothy device invented by Helen Hunt's character in Twister was adopted by Kate Cooper (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) in the sequel. It's yet to be revealed if Hunt will also appear in Twisters to confirm that both films exist in the same universe. The character dynamics of the original appear to have at least inspired Twisters' ensemble, as far as the trailers have teased. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, actor Anthony Ramos describes his character Javi's relationship with Kate; he also revealed how his approach to playing Javi would have been different if Steven Spielberg had not intervened.

"They used to chase together," he said, referring to Javi's history with Kate. "You'll see in the beginning of the movie, there's a pretty significant storm, and the trauma of that affects them both in different ways. That trauma causes Kate to move away and kind of distance herself." In the same vein, Twister also revealed Helen Hunt's character was driven to study tornadoes after a harrowing childhood experience. Javi and Kate appear to have the same motivations in Twisters. "On the opposite side, Javi is like, 'Yo, I need to dedicate my life to creating the most advanced technology possible, to be able to decipher when these things are going to happen, how they happen, what causes them,'" Ramos added.

Anthony Ramos' Character Changed After Feedback From Steven Spielberg

Ramos said he initially wanted Javi to have a Southern accent, but executive producer Steven Spielberg advised against it. "I heard Steven [Spielberg] was like, 'No, I want him to do it in his dialect,'" Ramos said of the filmmaker's comment. "It was a little surprising to me," he added, "but it was really cool, to me, because I've never heard someone who speaks in my vernacular — especially this New York, Northeast, Latino dialect that I have — in a movie of this size, in a place like Oklahoma. It makes me feel it's possible for a kid from the hood to go to a school like OU, study meteorology, be this brilliant meteorologist and storm chaser. This is something that a kid like me could do. I thought that that was really cool." The actor also confirmed director Lee Isaac Chung is the reason he signed up for the sequel.

"[Chung} is a guy that directs these really niche, smaller, beautiful films," Ramos said. "And here he is doing this massive movie. I knew he was going to bring the heart and soul to it." His co-star Katy O'Brian also heaped praise on Chung in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying "I think [Chung] just really understands the battle of humans and nature, but also the importance of the balance of nature and all of that." O'Brian asserts that much like the 1996 film, Twisters will deliver a thrilling cinematic experience for the whole family.

Twisters premieres in theaters on Jul. 19.

Source: Entertainment Weekly