Twisted Metal showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith is currently working with a writers room on season 2, which he says is going to be wild
When the TV series based on the popular video game franchise Twisted Metal made its premiere on the Peacock streaming service back in July, it quickly became one of Peacock’s top five original series, racking up 400 million viewing minutes in its first weekend and earning the honor of being the streamer’s “most-binged” premiere. Now season 2 is moving full steam ahead, and showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith (who also happens to be a writer on Cobra Kai) has given Syfy Wire an update, saying the writers room has been assembled for season 2 and he feels they’re going to deliver something wild.
Smith is excited to be working with characters like Dollface, Mr. Grimm, and Axel, although working a couple of those into the grounded world established in the first season presents a challenge. As he said, “(Mr. Grimm) is my favorite and I’m excited to capture what the fans are excited about seeing, but also answer the question of: ‘How does he exist in the world we’ve set up?’ I think there’s just going to be a lot of fun with him — what kind of character he is in this world and how does he interact with people like Sweet Tooth?” And, “We have to get Axel right. … I’m excited for fans to see these characters come to life and see what makes them funny and what makes them heartbroken. I think it’s gonna be fun to dive into these people … We introduced a lot of these characters — Preacher, Bloody Mary, John, Quiet, Watts — it’s gonna be fun to put them all in a [single] place at the tournament and have them interact. I’m excited about seeing how does Preacher react to Bloody Mary? How does Grimm react to Sweet Tooth?’ There’s a lot of really fun, interconnective character headspace stuff that I’m really excited to dive into. It feels like a new toy box.“
As for what will be going on in Twisted Metal season 2, Smith described it in Cobra Kai terms: “On Cobra Kai, there were very much tournament seasons and consequence seasons, and this is very much a tournament season. I want everything to feel like it’s tied to the tournament, even if we aren’t in the tournament yet. I am hopeful that it will surprise and delight those people who saw the finale of Episode 10 and was like, ‘I want to see more of that in a tournament setting.’ My goal is to capture that.“
Smith, who describes his vision of Twisted Metal as sort of an American Lord of the Rings, also confirmed that season 2 will have a retro soundtrack like its predecessor.
Based on an original take by Deadpool and Zombieland screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, this adaptation of the Twisted Metal franchise centers on a motor-mouthed outsider who 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.
Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) stars in the series as 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.” Neve Campbell (Scream) plays a character named Raven, Thomas Haden Church (Wings) is Agent Stone, “a cold and unyielding post-apocalyptic highway patrolman who rules the roads with a silver tongue and a twisted iron fist, prosecuting even the smallest crimes with the harshest of judgements. Agent Stone will stop at nothing to bring law and order back to the Divided States of America, and will kill anyone in his path who defies his power”; and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) is Quiet, “a ferocious, badass car thief who acts purely on instinct – you couldn’t stop her any more than a manhole could stop a volcano. Coming from a community that oppressed her into silence, Quiet’s wish is to find her place in this dark, chaotic world. But when she becomes clouded by her need for revenge, Quiet forms an unlikely, antagonistic bond with John Doe”.
Also in the cast are Mike Mitchell (The Tomorrow War) and Tahj Vaughans (P-Valley) as buddies Stu and Mike, “the Rosencrantz & Guildenstern of this world, and together often find themselves to be more followers than fighters”; Lou Beatty Jr. (A Million Little Things) as Tommy, “a grizzled and weathered cartographer who knows the dangers of the Wild Midwest”; and Richard Cabral (Mayans M.C.) as Quiet’s overprotective brother Loud. AEW wrestler Joe Seanoa, a.k.a Samoa Joe, plays iconic video game character Sweet Tooth, with Will Arnett (Arrested Development) providing the character’s voice.
Mackie, Smith, Arnett, Reese, and Wernick executive produce the Twisted Metal series alongside director Kitao Sakurai and Marc Forman of Electric Avenue, Jason Spire of Inspire Entertainment, Peter Principato of Artists First, Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan from PlayStation Productions, and Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios. The series is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television, Playstation Productions, and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Did you enjoy the first season of Twisted Metal, and are you excited to see a wild season 2? What did you think of Smith’s quotes about the new season? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
