Video game fans are intrigued at the news of a Twisted Metal series coming to the Peacock streaming service, starring and executive-produced by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star Anthony Mackie.
The show is being described as “a comedic half-hour live-action adaptation,” according to Deadline.
The source material for Twisted Metal, a popular Playstation video game franchise of the same name, has not seen a new title come out since 2012’s PS3 reboot. The games center around vehicular combat amongst grotesque and murderous marauders, à la Mad Max. The games’ most famous character, Needles Kane, is a serial killer dressed as a clown, with literal flames for hair, and who drives an ice cream truck-turned-weapon, Sweet Tooth.
Mackie won’t play Needles in the show, however, instead playing a fast-talking outsider who must deliver a mystery package across a barren wasteland as the dangers of the open road pursue him and his car-thief partner. The murderous clown will be among those chasing after the duo.
The package delivery is a last-ditch chance at a better life for Mackie’s John Doe, a hard-driving milkman with no memory of his past, but who longs to find a welcoming community to call home in a post-apocalyptic earth.
One fan’s reaction to the news was decidedly “mixed,” since the game series has an unambiguously R-rated tone.
Many on Twitter were wondering “why Peacock?” rather than one of the more prominent streaming services, like Netflix or HBO Max.
On the other hand, maybe a brand-new TV adaptation will bolster Sony’s interest in developing another game in a franchise that has largely lain dormant for a decade.
Gaming and entertainment journalist Erin Ashely Simon admitted she was “intrigued,” both by the comedic approach, and the promising prospect of the property hitting a streaming platform, rather than going the oft-ill-fated video game to movie adaptation route.
The prospect of anything Mackie-related, combined with a beloved video game title, was enough for one fan to get “excited” about the show.
Plus, it may be a great way for Mackie to flex his comedic chops, a welcome change of pace from his usual Marvel film roles.
The somewhat-grim subject matter of the video games makes the show’s comedic focus kind of a bold choice. However, when the game in question follows an ice cream truck shooting missiles at a man whose arms are trapped in a pair of monster truck wheels, it’s only logical to create a show that doesn’t try to take itself too seriously.
Twisted Metal will be written and executive produced by Cobra Kai writer Michael Jonathan Smith, who will serve as showrunner, with Will Arnett and Marc Forman also executive producing.