Peacock has released a new clip from its upcoming Twisted Metal series and while the video game franchise is known more for its vehicular combat, there's not a car in sight in this latest teaser. Instead, we are treated to some fairly one-sided hand-to-hand combat between Anthony Mackie's John Doe and Sweet Tooth (played by Samoa Joe with the voice of Will Arnett).
Twisted Metal has been billed as a "high-octane action comedy." Although the octane is absent in this clip, there's no shortage of comedy.
“Aren’t we a tall glass of water? Me, I’m more of a Hawaiian punch,” Sweet Tooth taunts before slugging Mackie's character. Even though he's at a clear size disadvantage, John Doe does show some fight in him.
“I’m guessing you don’t fight much outside of your car, now, do you?” Sweet Tooth teases, to which John responds: "Look, clown, I don’t need four wheels to kick your a**.” Spoiler, it turns out he does need a car as he takes another vicious punch.
Then things take more of a comedic turn as Sweet Tooth turns on some "kill music." Just like the first teaser trailer, it's another unexpected song choice: Sisqó's "Thong Song."
More surprising than the song choice is the fact that Sweet Tooth starts singing along. We then get a comical back-and-forth between the two before the clip eventually ends with Sweet Tooth dragging John Doe off to "opening night" of his show.
It's definitely an interesting spin on the classic PlayStation franchise which is known more for its intense car combat and dark tones. But it shouldn't be totally unexpected as it was previously confirmed that Peacock's series is merely based on the PlayStation games and not necessarily a direct adaptation of them.
Even the general synopsis differs from the games. Rather than entering a tournament, John Doe is tasked with delivering a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland with the promise of a better life if he can successfully do so. Although it may not be a car combat tournament, his agreement to enter into such a deal is actually in line with the overall premise of the game: various characters risking their lives in return for a favor. The synopsis for the series reads:
Twisted Metal, a half-hour live-action TV series based on the classic PlayStation game series, is a high-octane action comedy, based on an original take by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and written by Michael Jonathan Smith, about a motor-mouthed outsider 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 badass axe-wielding 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.
In addition to the new clip, Peacock also dropped a couple of promotional images that highlight more of the cast. Among the stills are Stephanie Beatriz as the mysterious Quiet, Thomas Haden Church as Agent Stone, and Neve Campbell as Raven.
Twisted Metal will stream on July 27th only on Peacock.