Sony PlayStation’s trademark vehicular combat game, “Twisted Metal,” is poised to be turned into a television series.
“Twisted Metal” originally debuted in 1995 as an early first-party title for Sony’s original PlayStation. The title proved very popular very quickly thanks to its edgy characters and vehicular mayhem. A sequel, “Twisted Metal 2” quickly followed in 1996, with two further follow-ups in 1998 and 1999. Its influence also resulted in several imitators of sorts, including the oft forgotten “Vigilante 8” games and the ill-conceived “Star Wars: Demolition.”
According to a report from Variety, Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions have reached an agreement that brings together writers and producers from “Deadpool” and “Cobra Kai” to bring the series to life.
Despite this initial success, the franchise peaked very quickly and hasn’t had a new entry in the series since “Twisted Metal” (2012) for the PS3. Even this game wasn’t as warmly received as 2001’s “Twisted Metal: Black” for the PlayStation 2, leading to that title being re-released digitally on the PlayStation 4 near the end of 2015.
After 9 years without an original game, how is a “Twisted Metal” series going to fare? Well, it certainly has a shot at success given the talent behind it. “Zombieland” and “Deadpool” writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will be executively producing the series while Michael Jonathan Smith will also serve as an executive producer in addition to writing it. Smith has recently found success with his writing for “Cobra Kai.”
Since the program is in very early stages of development, there are no casting details yet to discuss. It was recently announced that Pedro Pascal would be cast as the lead in another Sony PlayStation game turned series, “The Last of Us.” Suffice to say, we probably won’t be seeing Pascal taking on the role of Twisted Metal’s mascot of sorts, the killer clown Sweet Tooth. Who knows, maybe Bill Skarsgard might feel like putting on some face paint again!
In all seriousness, the “Twisted Metal” brand has been dormant for almost a decade. Fans can only hope that the upcoming series sees its way successfully to TV screens in the near future and does the franchise some much needed justice.
