Thanks to Sony’s Twisted Metal on Peacock and The Last of Us on HBO and Max, 2023 emerged as the year video game adaptations took a giant leap forward. Both shows were renewed for a second season. But while there’s a clear road map for The Last of Us season 2 to adapt the second game, Twisted Metal is largely heading into uncharted territory that will explore one of the key aspects of the vehicle combat game series.
To help you keep track of the latest news, we’ve put together this roundup of everything you need to know about Twisted Metal season 2. And we’ll keep updating it as more news is announced.
Who’s coming back for Twisted Metal season 2?
Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie will once headline Twisted Metal season 2 as John Doe, a skilled driver in the postapocalypse who is looking for answers about his missing memories. Stephanie Beatriz will reprise her role as John’s ally, Quiet. Neve Campbell is also likely to return as John’s boss, Raven.
Joe Seanoa — who is better known to wrestling fans as Samoa Joe — physically portrays Sweet Tooth, the show’s most iconic character. Samoa Joe is confirmed to return, as is Will Arnett, who provides the voice of Sweet Tooth.
Who is joining the cast in season 2?
Variety is reporting that Anthony Carrigan, who portrayed NoHo Hank on HBO’s Barry, has been cast in Twisted Metal season 2 as Calypso. In the world of the games and the show, Calypso is the man behind the Twisted Metal car combat tournament. He was also mentioned briefly by name during the first season. Calypso promises to grant the winner of the tournament their greatest wishes, but he almost always does so in a way that makes the victors wish they hadn’t won at all.
Carrigan may have been cast because he has an uncanny resemblance to the way Calypso was portrayed in Twisted Metal: Black. Besides Barry, Carrigan has played Victor Zsasz on Gotham, Mist on The Flash TV series, and he is portraying Metamorpho in James Gunn’s Superman movie that is coming next year.
Additionally, Variety’s report states that Richard de Klerk, Patty Guggenheim, and Tiana Okoye have also been added to the cast in currently unrevealed roles.
One of season 2’s big additions already made her first appearance on the show during the first season finale. Dollface, pictured above, revealed that she’s looking for her brother, John. Presumably, Peacock will cast an established actress to play Dollface in season 2.
Showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith also told NBC Insider that two more characters from the games are confirmed for season 2: Mr. Grimm and Axel.
“[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?'” said Smith. “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?”
As for Axel, Smith said “we have to get Axel right,” while acknowledging the challenges of adapting Axel’s unique physical connection to his vehicle. Certain liberties may need to be taken with Axel’s design in order to make him work in live-action.
What’s going to happen in Twisted Metal season 2?
As hinted in the first season finale, Twisted Metal season 2 will finally bring the characters together for the car combat tournament that has previously been explored in the games. Smith also spoke about the tournament with NBC Insider as he shared his excitement over what’s coming up next.
“I’m excited for fans to see these characters come to life and see what makes them funny and what makes them heartbroken,” noted Smith. “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 Mar. 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.”
Smith also compared his current series with his former show, Cobra Kai, specifically regarding the focus on a tournament in both shows.
“On Cobra Kai, there were very much tournament seasons and consequence seasons, and this is very much a tournament season,” said Smith. “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 [were] like, ‘I want to see more of that in a tournament setting.’ My goal is to capture that.”
Has Twisted Metal season 2 started filming yet?
No. But there is an encouraging sign. Samoa Joe recently lost his AEW World Championship, which could free him up from his pro wrestling obligations so he can film the second season of Twisted Metal. For now, there’s no official word about when cameras will start rolling for season 2.
When will Twisted Metal season 2 premiere?
Considering that Twisted Metal season 2 has yet to begin production, a 2025 debut seems like the earliest possible premiere window.
