Anthony Mackie Is Set To Deliver Milk And Violence In Live-Action Video Game Adaptation
Anthony Mackie is set to deliver!
Do you think playing the new Captain America is going to give Anthony Mackie too much of a clean-cut persona he won’t be able to shake? Well, if it’s something he’s ever worried about, he clearly already has a solution in mind. The Marvel actor is confirmed to be starring in an upcoming live-action adaptation of the explosive video game series Twisted Metal.
As reported by Deadline, Peacock has given Twisted Metal a series order. While the project was first announced last September, no network or streaming service had given a green light to the series until now. Deadline reports the adaptation will be an action comedy, with Anthony Mackie starting as John Doe. Like at least 35% of video game protagonists since the ’90s, John Doe is an adventurer with no memory of his past. He’s given the opportunity to finally become part of a community, but in order to do it he has to cross a post-apocalyptic wasteland to deliver a package.
The Anthony Mackie character is described as a “smart-ass milkman who talks as fast as he drives.” He will be joined by a car thief who likes to shoot first and ask questions later, and will be pursued by a maniac in clown make-up, better known to fans of the game series as Needles Kane. The villainous clown will, according to Deadline, be driving Sweet Tooth — the ice cream truck familiar to any Twisted Metal fan. There’s no firm word yet on any other casting, including the clown and the car thief.
Early last year, Will Arnett was reported as being cast as the voice of Needles Kane, though the report from Deadline doesn’t confirm that casting. Instead, the outlet says Arnett is executive producing along with Marc Forman. Of course, that doesn’t mean Arnett couldn’t also play a role in the series. Also executive producing and acting as showrunner is Michael Jonathan Smith, known previously for his writing work on Cobra Kai.
It’s possible that Anthony Mackie could be boarding the next big thing. We could be seeing the beginning of superhero films and TV shows being challenged by the last kind of media expected to challenge anyone — video game adaptations. Once seen as the worst kind of bad idea, upcoming game adaptations are now filling up streaming services and film studios. The Halo series will premiere on Paramount+ at the end of March. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is gearing up its promotion and a Knuckles spin-off show has been announced starring Idris Elba. Casting has begun for Amazon’s Fallout series and the studio is developing shows for Mass Effect, Life Is Strange, and Disco Elysium. No doubt the financial success of Sony’s Uncharted will do little to slow down the development of video game properties.
There isn’t a lot more concrete news on Anthony Mackie’s upcoming Twisted Metal series, though we expect there will be more updates sooner rather than later. In the meantime, it hopefully won’t be too long before you can enjoy the next console generation version of the game. Last year it was announced that a new, next generation version of Twisted Metal was in development for the PS5.
