First Teaser For Peacock's Twisted Metal Series Has Arrived

Fans looking forward to Peacock's live-action take on the popular 90s video game series "Twisted Metal" have received a first glimpse of the upcoming TV show. Peacock released its trailer today, which doesn't give much away but confirms that a couple of well-known characters are involved. "Twisted Metal" as a genre revolves around a deadly demolition derby tournament with life-changing prizes. Its violent contestants compete in a range of heavily modified vehicles that tend to feature heavy armor and weapons, including machine guns and flamethrowers.

The bulk of the trailer focuses on John Doe, a character looking to fix his life by winning the tournament. He'll be played by Anthony Mackie of Marvel movie fame. During the trailer, he loads an over-under shotgun with two shells taken from the plentiful supply he keeps in his vehicle's glovebox. 

In the video game, Doe drives "Roadkill" — a pony car with a pair of functioning miniguns strapped to it. In the series, Roadkill seems to be a bit more modern — though not by much. It's an early 2000s Subaru WRX with some machine guns strapped to it. Keeping with the early 2000s theme, Doe flicks through his mix CD collection before pulling out one labeled "Road Mix" and peeling off to the sound of Len's "Steal My Sunshine."

At the end of the trailer, we get a glimpse of one of the most anticipated and iconic characters. Needles, is spotted inside "Sweet Tooth" — his fittingly twisted ice cream truck. The murderous clown is played by wrestler Samoa Joe and voiced by Will Arnett — whose previous credits include Gob in "Arrested Development" and the title character in "Bojack Horseman."

Not much is known about the plot of the series, but the Twisted Metal canon is all over the place anyway — so whatever Peacock comes out with will likely be its own. If the crew stuck to the video game's plot, a mysterious Satan-like figure named Calypso will probably invite a bunch of violent misfits to take part in a demolition derby. The winner will get any wish granted. If some of the game's endings are repeated, however, that wish may also have a catch. For example, in one title, Needles had murdered his entire family, aside from his daughter who managed to wound him and escape. His one goal in life was then to hunt her down and finish the job. Should he win the tournament, he asks Calypso to send him to his daughter. What Calypso doesn't mention is Needles' daughter is now dead, so the killer clown is transported to a coffin six feet underground. 

If you haven't played any of the games, and are interested in the series, that's the level of depravity you can expect if it stays true to the subject matter. All 10 episodes of the series are set to premiere on the streaming service on July 27.