Last year, Anthony Mackie scored a major upgrade in the MCU, thanks to Sam Wilson finally becoming Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. After that point, you’d think life couldn’t get any sweeter; and yet the charismatic actor just got some great news to sink his tire treads into. It has now been confirmed that Mackie’s about to head into the vehicular nightmare known as Twisted Metal, with the legendary Playstation game becoming a streaming action/comedy series with a newly announced series order.
Meet Anthony Mackie And The Rest Of The Twisted Metal Series' Team
Freshly announced by Peacock, the joint venture between Sony Pictures Television, Playstation Productions, and Universal TV is officially a going concern for traffic cops everywhere. There’s a hell of a pedigree behind the scenes on Twisted Metal beyond Anthony Mackie's starring presence as well, with Deadpool and Zombieland’s Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick previously developing the property alongside Cobra Kai’s Michael Jonathan Smith. Smith is set to be the showrunner, with Reese and Wernick executive producing on a team that also includes Mackie and Will Arnett. As far as Mackie’s role is concerned, here’s what the official press release had to say:
Mackie plays John Doe, a smart-ass milkman who talks as fast as he drives. With no memory of his past, John gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his wish of finding community come true, but only if he can survive an onslaught of savage vehicular combat.
For the moment, it doesn’t look like fans of the longrunning PlayStation franchise will be seeing Anthony Mackie playing a familiar face from the nearly 30-year history that goes back to its PS1 roots. That doesn’t mean Twisted Metal is suddenly dropping its lore in the name of half-hour episodes of Hell, especially with the concept of an amnesiac protagonist racing to learn more about his shadowy past in the driver’s seat. However, looking at the larger story of the series, there’s even more of the gaming franchise’s DNA that’s about to be brought to flaming, grinning life for Peacock subscribers to behold.
What’s The Story To Anthony Mackie’s Twisted Metal Adventure?
John Doe sounds like an Anthony Mackie character through and through, and even the series’ synopsis knows it. Repeating his fast talking nature in the rundown, we’re given more details about what to expect down the road for this forgetful traveller. Twisted Metal fans, you’re going to love where the following story is heading:
A motor-mouthed outsider [is] offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.
Just when you thought Sweet Tooth might not be rearing his head in Twisted Metal, the iconic vehicle's presence is made clear right at the end of the synopsis to the series. It’s like seeing a fan favorite character dropped in as DLC, which is something Sweet Tooth is very used to. While there’s no one cast in the role just yet, it’s hard not to hope that Will Arnett’s executive producing credit is a trojan horse to his eventual casting in that very important role.
There’s probably plenty of time for that decision to be made, as we more than likely won’t see Sweet Tooth until the middle of the first season. Even saying that feels like a generous assessment, as Twisted Metal would probably want to save one of its most iconic racers for an unveiling towards the end of its initial arc. This is, after all, a vehicle for Anthony Mackie’s John Doe to shine.
Imagining all of the presumably TV-MA trash talk The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star will be able to deliver on an episodic basis in Twisted Metal makes that concept all the more comfortable. Thinking about Mackie’s potential stand off against a Will Arnett voiced/acted Sweet Tooth? That’d be the hypothetical cherry on the post-apocalyptic sundae; provided of course that Arnett’s star studded Netflix comedy Murderville can spare him.
Twisted Metal has no set production start date or release date set, so we’re going to have to wait for further action and updates from Peacock. In the meantime, you can catch all of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+. Those still looking for something new in the world of TV can check out the 2022 TV premiere dates.
