Director Of Wakita "Twister" Museum Preparing For Sequel Film Release

With a population of around 300 people, visitors from around the country are flocking to a small Oklahoma town two hours north of Oklahoma City.

In Wakita, the main thing visitors want to see if the real filming location of Hollywood's 1996 disaster film "Twister."

The director of Wakita's Twister the Movie Museum said she made a special trip to downtown Oklahoma City on Monday for the premiere of that movie's sequel, "Twisters," and remembered the excitement of having her small town on the big screen nearly 30 years ago.

"Having a movie in Wakita was very exciting," Linda Wade said. "We don't even have a movie theater in our county, so to get a movie filmed here was extraordinary."

Film studio Warner Bros. and "Twister" star Bill Paxton gifted the town of Wakita items such as debris, scripts, photos, a pinball machine and even an original "Dorothy," the name for an experimental tornado research tool from the movie."

Wade said the museum has seen visitors from every continent, and during last year's filming for the sequel "Twisters," Wakita residents watched Hollywood in action with just as much excitement as the first time.

"It was exciting to have the second one in Oklahoma again," Wade said. "We really appreciate the fact that they came to Tornado Alley to film a tornado movie for sure."

"Twisters" releases to the general public on Friday, and tickets for showings this weekend are already selling out across the Oklahoma City metro.

In the meantime, the museum in Wakita is free for anyone willing to make the trip.

Wade said for 2025, they are planning a 30-year celebration, with actors from the original movie are planning to attend and stars from the new movie will also be invited.