Peacock’s video game adaptationTwisted Metalis returning for a second season, which premieres on July 31. After the adrenaline-pumping season 1 introduced the show’s core characters - including Anthony Mackie’s John Doe and Stephanie Beatriz’s Quiet - and the post-apocalyptic world in which they live.
Season 2 is set to bring the world of the games to life even more byfinally depicting a racing tournament, hosted by the long-teased character Calypso. The returning cast for the season also includes Joe Seanoa and Will Arnett as the body and voice of Sweet Tooth respectively.
In late 2024,Screen Rantwas invited to visit the set ofTwisted Metalseason 2in Ontario, Canada. The production wasin the middle of shooting episode 7 of the season’s planned 10-episode run(which has now been split into 12), specifically focusing on a scene where Calypso (now played byBarry’s Anthony Carrigan) addressed a group of drivers.
The scene took place in the tournament’s auto shop after a qualifier round. However,conversations with the cast and crew involved encompassed the entire seasonas a whole, on top of what was being shot at the time.
Twisted Metal Season 2’s Story And Expanding World
The Cast And Crew Explain Where Season 1 Starts Off And How It’s Even Bigger Than Season 1
Showrunner and co-creator Michael Jonathan Smith offered a lot ofinsight into the overarching storyline of season 2, including the fact that it will kick off eight months after theTwisted Metalseason 1 ending, with Quiet and John still being separated and Quiet having joined the Dolls.
They will eventually reunite - Beatriz says they will navigate questions like “Are they still a unit? Have things changed too much?” - and John will meet his sister, Dollface (Tiana Okoye) asmany characters both old and new come together for Calypso’s tournament.
The major car stunt sequences have exploded from three and a half in season 1 to “seven or eight” in season 2.
While not every one of theTwisted Metalseason 1 charactersis set to return, Smith teases thatthe first round of the tournament features 16 cars. With the tournament being the center of season 2’s storyline, the cast and crew tease a huge increase across the board.
Seanoa says thatthey have “expanded the scale of the show” with “a lot more car combat.“Meanwhile, stunt coordinator Logan Holladay teased “feature-level stunts” while Smith himself revealed that the major car stunt sequences have exploded from three and a half in season 1 to “seven or eight” in season 2.
In addition to increased action (including a scene Beatriz described where Quiet jumps from five feet up and chops somebody’s head off), they have teased howthe story is shifting and expanding.
Mackie says that season 2 “definitely builds on season 1"and that the only real remnant of the show that still feels like the previous season is the presence of Sweet Tooth. Read his full quote below:
Season 1 was a really good show… a really good starting point, because there’s nothing like this on TV. And I think every season you want to build on the season before it… This season definitely builds on season 1 because the tournament’s insane and there’s nothing like that in season 1. We still have Sweet Tooth, but other than that, that’s the only remnants of season 1.
Beatriz promises that “the storyline broadens out a lot in this season,” which includesa huge indoor set bringing the games' Diesel City to life, as teased by Smith. On top of the expanded world, the plot will take major twists and turns.
In fact, Carrigan - who says that while “season 1 was great… season 2 is gonna be even better” because “the stakes are a little higher” - hints that “you’re really not going to be able to tell what’s gonna happenby the end of the season based on the first few episodes.”
Twisted Metal Season 2’s Characters
Faces Both Fresh And Familiar Populate The New Season
Over the course of the visit,much was revealed about the characters who will be populating season 2, particularly those who will be joining theTwisted Metalcastfor the first time. Some are characters from the games, like Mr. Grimm (Richard de Klerk), a character who drives his late stunt driver father’s old motorcycle.
This roster also includes Chuckie Floop, a clueless rich kid, and Axel (Michael James Shaw), a character whose body is mounted inside two giant wheels and whose backstory will bean original invention of the show rather than one of the games' conflicting stories, as confirmed by Smith.
Smith also revealed that Lisa Gilroy’snewTwisted Metalseason 2 characterVermin, who drives the Roach Coach, while not directly taken from the games, isinspired by the pre-existing game character Goggle Eyesand the truck Vermin.
Other characters are fully original creations, including Saylor Bell Curda’s Mayhem, who Smith describes as an “apo baby,” meaninga teenager who “grew up in the apocalypse and has found a life"and forms a bond with Quiet that allows the story to ask “what is it like for Quiet to be a role model?”.
While the show’s cast and worldview are expanding significantly,some things will remain the same. This includes John’s amnesia.
Anthony Mackie confirms that “[John’s] brain is forever broken,” jokingly referring to the way thatamnesia will continue to affect the character permanently,even as he begins to learn about his life and family from before the apocalypse through his sister Dollface, presenting him with significant emotional challenges.
While breaking down Dollface’s costume changes throughout the season, Smith let slip that the character appears in at least the first four episodes of season 2.
Quite a few familiar faces will also appear as drivers in the race this season, including Raven (Neve Campbell),who will be given an expanded role and her own cold open, and members of the religious-themed gang known as the Holy Men.
A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Cars Of Twisted Metal Season 2
More Than 3 Dozen Cars Were Built For This Season
Michael Jonathan Smith and art director Guy Roland also conducteda tour around the set’s massive (real) auto shop, which employs more than two dozen peopleand is directly connected to other departments, including costumes and special effects.
This allows for easy collaboration, which is how they’ve been able to craft roughly40 cars for the new season. At the time, they were prepping for a shot where a car was going to be blown up, stripping every bit of potentially explosive material from the shell of the vehicle to ensure the stunt could be executed as safely as possible.
Other ongoing projects included transforming an old mail truck into a double for Sweet Tooth’s ice cream van and setting up a stunt where a car was going to fly off a ramp.
Smith’s boyish enthusiasm for the show shone through during the tour as he showed off howevery detail of the cars reflects important information about the charactersdriving them. This was especially true of the Dolls’ Beetle Bugs.
They aretransported by a car carrier that has the ability to drop the Bugs off the back.He was particularly keen to show off Dollface’s vehicle, which has shrapnel inserted over the headlights that look like eyelashes and bullet holes in the front to mimic freckles.
Other cars in the shop included Raven’s car, Shadow(which was clean and sleek to reflect her insider status), a Holy Man’s car (complete with a rear window made of stained glass), and Mr. Grimm’s motorcycle, Reaper (emblazoned with his dad’s old logo).
Also in the shop were Shrapnel (which had a ruined smokestack that a crew member had actually shot with a shotgun) anda tow truck with a spiked ball hanging from the back. See more shots from the auto shop tour below:
Also on hand was a version of John and Quiet’s car Roadkill that was rigged with a seat on top so a stunt driver could steer and make it look as though Anthony Mackie was actually driving. Logan Holladay later revealed thatthere are actually five different versions of Roadkill, which is necessary because the season has “as many stunts as a big-budget movie.”
A Visit To The Auto Shop Set From Twisted Metal Season 2
The Set Is Meant To Mimic A Former High School
Screen Rantwas also able toexplore the set depicting the show’s fictional auto shopduring a break when filming was not taking place. Smith revealed that most of the tournament facilities, including dormitories, take place in what used to be a high school.
The in-universe car mechanics have thusrefurbished what used to be the school’s actual auto shopclassroom. The production designers have made it so that some remnants of its original high school aesthetic remain, but they have been updated inTwisted Metalstyle, including plenty of cobwebs and a full wall of guns.
The mechanic shop [is] the show’s version of being in between levels in the game…
There were several vehicles being “worked on” in the shop, includingReaper, Sweet Tooth’s ice cream van, a Snowsquall Plow, and Axel’s giant wheel rig, which was contained in one of the cubicle-like areas that lined one of the far walls.
Smith described the mechanic shop as being the show’s version of being in between levels in the game, with the high school setting sparking the themes of “high school and nostalgia and youth” that are going to be major throughlines ofTwisted Metalseason 2.
