Twisted Metal is a video game franchise that began in 1995 on the original PlayStation. David Jaffe, (who is also responsible for the God of War franchise,) brought gamers a zany world that involved vehicular combat and cool character design. Winning a simple demolition derby served as the game’s main premise and goal. Between now and then, multiple sequels were released, with the last one being in 2012, although the franchise then lay dormant for around ten years.
Then in 2021, it was officially announced that Anthony Mackie would lead a Twisted Metal TV series that would feature iconic characters and imagery from the game, but would tell a unique, original story. The show premiered in the US in July of 2023, but it is being aired in the UK for this first time on Paramount+ later this month, on March 21 2024.
We already know that a second season is on the way, thanks to the massive success of the first. The first series was so popular that plans were in place to develop and release a new Twisted Metal game for PS5, but that was sadly subsequently cancelled.
We were lucky enough to get the opportunity to sit down for a chat with Anthony Mackie and his brilliant co-star Stephanie Beatriz, to discuss their familiarity with the source material, video game Easter Eggs, and more.
The influence of the Twisted Metal games on the show
FandomWire: I grew up playing the Twisted Metal games, so I wonder what were your experiences were with the video game franchise prior to getting the offer to star in the adaption?
Anthony Mackie: I grew up playing Twisted Metal too, I just really sucked at it. I have actually never won a battle in Twisted Metal and I’ve played it probably a thousand times and every single time I lose. So, that’s my background with Twisted Metal, but the game is so different to the show. There was no character development or story in the game. The game was just like you shoot me, I shoot you. So, it was kind of like the creative dream to get these characters that were so iconic and be able to imagine and come up with their backstory. You don’t get that often and I can’t think of another game where that would be the case.
Stephanie Beatriz: Yeah, so many of these games really have to stick to the characters that have been developed over time and the gameplay, but we got to just go buck wild in the development of the characters and the world and expand the universe of Twisted Metal, because you really don’t know what is coming around the next corner.
FW: The first season of the show had lots of easter eggs that called back to the source material, like the PS1 disc flying onto John Doe’s windscreen at one point. Was it important to you to include lots of small references like this for fans of the game?
SB: I think that Michael Jonathan Smith has done an excellent job of including things like this. I know that they are usually referred to as Easter Eggs in the industry, but I feel like they are more like little valentines to people that really love the game. There are lots of these little gifts that he has dropped throughout the series. Whether it is the name of a bar, or a character’s outfit that you see in the background, people that love the game are going to be really satisfied to see those. Although, I do also feel like it somewhat of a standalone story in a way, because it is this wild, action-packed buddy comedy at its core with crashing cars that is really fun to watch. It is really fucking fun to watch two people talk shit to each other and then kick a whole lot of ass.
AM: I agree one hundred percent. I think one of the best things about this show is the idea that with the characters being who they are, we all have a relationship already. So, we have an understanding of who these characters are to us. What Michael and the writing team did so well was just fill in everything around that, so now you have your pre-established relationship with the characters, but with the more new stuff you learn, the more that relationship grows. So that helped us out in a brilliant way to wrangle the audience in and make them want more.
Thoughts on adapting video games for TV
FW: Game adaptions had a really bad reputation in the late 90s and early 2000s, but nowadays, studios seem far more up for adapting video game properties. Why do you think that shows like Twisted Metal, The Last of Us, and Halo have been given the opportunity to shine recently?
AM: I think it is a different generation now. If you look at video games then compared to games now, they are on a whole other level of interactivity. Games like Twisted Metal as a dad, I can sit and watch that with my son and be like, “this is the shit that we used to play, this is the stuff that we used to do.” And my son is like, “these characters are weird, what is this?” And it is the same thing with Super Mario Bros, or Sonic the Hedgehog. All those movies, I watch those with my kids because we play the video games together. So, I think that now it is just that this new generation has come in, because there is always the issue of trying to relate to these little fuckers, so it gives us parents the ability to relate to them without jumping out of a window.
FW: What was it that enticed you to work on this series? Given that the video game source material doesn’t really have much of a story, you must have been going in pretty blind.
SB: The scripts were phenomenal, I read them all before I even met Anthony. They were phenomenal. I thought they were a fantastic mix of my first love, which is comedy, and action, which I have fallen in love with. I also miss that buddy comedy element between the two lead characters that was present in the kind of movies I grew up with. I love movies where two characters have two work together despite the fact they are a complete mismatch and as the film goes on, you end up completely on their side because they are this motley crew of two. I miss those kinds of movies, and this series represents that sensibility that I long for at its core. There is also the very subtle, smart commentary on our real world as it is today, like the fact that are two leads are a black man and a Latino woman. All of that stuff was really important to me as I was reading the scripts and enjoying how smart and funny they were. And then, I did a chemistry test with Anthony and he was a complete idiot, so I was like “well I gotta sign on now to save this show.” No, I did a screen test with Anthony and it became very clear that we had similar sensibility with how we like to work and with how free we are with comedy and fun on set and I thought it was really going to work. And I think that it does.
Getting the opportunity to chat to Anthony and Stephanie about all things Twisted Metal was amazing. If you have somehow read this far and still not checked out the show, then I implore you to make it the next thing on your viewing list, as it really is a great time. The games are also worth going back to take a look at as long as you have a system that will play them. Thanks again to both Anthony and Stephanie for taking the time to chat to us.
