The Twisted Metal video game franchise is being adapted into a live-action TV series by Deadpool and Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, according to Variety. Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions are developing the show, which is described as an action comedy.
The first Twisted Metal game came out in 1995 and the most recent one was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2012. The gameplay centered on the Twisted Metal demolition derby, where a number of drivers battle it out with missiles and machine guns until only one car remains. The winner is granted a wish by the game’s host, the demonic Calypso, who would typically twist the victor’s desire in dark irony.
Serializing the bombastic blow-em-up for the screen will be Michael Jonathan Smith, who most recently wrote for and produced Cobra Kai. He’ll write and executive produce Twisted Metal alongside EPs Reese and Wernick, as well as Marc Forman and Peter Principato of Artists First. Will Arnett is also on board via his Electric Avenue production company, with a chance that he’ll provide the voice of one of the franchise’s most recognizable psychos, Sweet Tooth, though Variety notes that deal is not yet locked.
“We love Twisted Metal in all its twisted insanity,” said Glenn Adilman, executive vice president of comedy development for Sony Pictures Television. “Michael Jonathan Smith hit it out of the park with an action-packed, brilliantly funny adaptation and we are grateful for the support of Rhett, Paul, Will, and our friends at PlayStation.”
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Added Playstation Productions head Asad Qizilbash, “Twisted Metal is one of the most beloved franchises from PlayStation. We are thrilled to have such a great team working on bringing this iconic game to life for the fans.”
As The Verge notes, this isn’t Sony’s first attempt at adapting the video game franchise for Hollywood. A Twisted Metal movie was announced in 2012, but it apparently fell apart because the studio wasn’t willing to spend the amount of money needed to make a proper adaptation.
Read the TV series’ official synopsis below:
“The show is about 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 named who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck, whom fans of the game will know as Sweet Tooth.”
