If 1996's "Twister" taught us anything, it's that storm chasing is not only exhilarating, but when things go wrong it makes for one hell of a natural disaster movie. In 2024, we'll be treated to "Twisters," the long-awaited follow-up to "Twister," which is looking to capitalize on the success of legacy sequels, similar to "Top Gun: Maverick." But before that disaster epic touches ground and lays waste to the box office, another group of reckless storm chasers, led by none other than Alec Baldwin, will be heading directly into the eye of the storm for our viewing pleasure.
"Supercell" is a disaster movie from director Herbert James Winterstern, previously known for his work on NBC's "Siberia." Alongside Baldwin, the movie stars Skeet Ulrich, Jordan Kristine Seamón, Daniel Diemer, and in one of her final performances before her tragic passing in 2022, Anne Heche. It looks like it's going to be an intense outing with plenty of things that go wrong as the characters pursue the eponymous weather event.
Supercell storms, according to the National Weather Service, are uncommon thunderstorms that have a high probability of producing "severe weather, including damaging winds, very large hail, and sometimes weak to violent tornadoes." You can bet we'll get all of that when "Supercell" debuts, along with plenty of drama which we've laid out below.
When And Where To Watch Supercell
"Supercell" has already been making the rounds at festivals, with cinematographer Andrew Jeric winning Best Cinematography at the 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival. Since then we've had two trailers for the movie, one which debuted in February, and a "director's trailer" that arrived in early March. Now, Saban Films and Highland Film Group are gearing up for a wide release, with the latter revealing the film's international poster via Twitter post in February 2023.
[embed:https://twitter.com/HighlandFilmGrp/status/1628872955462815744]You can expect "Supercell" to hit select US theaters on March 17th. But alongside its theatrical release, the movie will be available for digital purchase and on-demand streaming on the same date, meaning you can watch the film from home as soon as it hits the multiplex.
British distributor ILY Films picked up the rights to "Supercell" back in 2021 so UK viewers should be able to see the film in the near future, though an exact release date is yet to be announced. In terms of an international release beyond the US and UK, there's no official word as yet, but as soon as more information becomes available, we'll update this page.
What Supercell Will Be About
"Supercell" may seem like a run-of-the mill disaster effort, but there's more to it. The film follows Daniel Diemer's William Brody, the teenage son of famed storm chaser Bill Brody, who died after getting caught in a super tornado. William discovers a package containing Bill's journal and a mysterious device and is compelled to test it out by heading directly into a supercell storm. He enlists the help of Alec Baldwin's Zane Rogers, who's turned Bill's storm-chasing company into a tourist business that prides itself on, as Zane puts it, "getting closer to the heat than any other touring company."
Described in Highland Film Group's synopsis as, "greedy and reckless," Zane agrees to help William venture into a storm. Accompanied by his dad's former partner Roy (Skeet Ulrich), William hopes to test out the device and discover what his dad was working on prior to his death. But as you might expect, things don't go to plan, as Zane encourages the group to go ever deeper into the eye of "the most dangerous supercell ever seen." That leaves William's family and friends to try to rescue the teen.
Shot in the Big Horn County area of Montana and in Moultrie, Georgia, Supercell sounds like it will combine a typical disaster movie narrative with an exploration of grief. As director Herbert James Winterstern told Collider, "At its core, ['Supercell' is] a human story about the grief of a boy searching for his identity after losing his dad." In fact, the filmmaker lost his own mother while co-writing the script with Anna Elizabeth James, and claims he was, "able to identify that William's journey wasn't strictly the pursuit of his father, but the discovery of his mother who he had taken for granted."
What We Know About The Supercell Cast And Crew
For a film that's going straight to digital with a somewhat B-movie premise, "Supercell" at least has a somewhat decent cast. Alec Baldwin will continue his run of showing up in smaller-scale films, à la late-career Bruce Willis or Mel Gibson, by starring as Zane Rogers: proprietor of Brody Storm Tours. Daniel Diemer ("The Half Of It") will play William Brody, son of Bill and a budding storm chaser who ventures into a supercell storm to test a device left behind by his late father. Anne Heche is set to portray William's still-grieving mother, Quinn Brody, alongside Skeet Ulrich ("Riverdale") as Bill's former partner, Roy Cameron. Praya Lundberg and Jordan Kristine Seamón will also appear.
Helmed by Herbert James Winterstern, "Supercell" is produced by Saban Film and Highland Film Group, which according to its own website has built, "a reputation for handling high-octane films in the action/thriller/horror space" and has been behind many of Bruce Willis' recent, smaller-budget action outings. Ryan Smith, who previously executive produced Aaron Sorkin's political courtroom drama "The Trial of the Chicago 7," is also onboard as producer.
And that's it for "Supercell" as of this moment. If any more news breaks between now and when the storm arrives on March 17th, we'll make sure to update this page.
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