Twisted Metal Trailer: Deadpool Meets Zombieland In Video Game TV Adaptation

Video game adaptations are all the rage. With the success of shows like "Arcane" winning all sorts of awards, and movies like "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" making serious bank at the box office, every studio wants to capitalize on gaming for their next big hit. While some adaptations take a rather faithful approach, like "The Last of Us" essentially doing a shot-for-shot remake, some take big swings and liberties with the source material. Now, Peacock wants to enter the video game adaptations race with "Twisted Metal," which falls squarely in the later camp, because a faithful adaptation this is not (as far as the trailers show). 

The biggest change between the games and the TV show is the fact that the action takes place outside of cars. The "Twisted Metal" games from the '90s were essentially big, violent versions of a toddler slamming Hot Wheels toys, bumper cars but with machine guns, missiles, and even nukes. Like other rather straightforward action games from the '90s like "Mortal Kombat," "Twisted Metal" has a surprising amount of lore, all centering around the titular Twisted Metal tournament. Whoever wins the tournament gets one wish granted by the game's mysterious demonic patron who then twists the wish into some cruel torture like an actual devil.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the "Twisted Metal" live-action show will retain any of this. What the show does seem to have, however, is the humor of "Deadpool" and "Zombieland." It looks weird, bizarre even, but it is also funny as hell.

The latest trailer for "Twisted Metal" tells us more about the world of the show, explaining that this particular brand of post-apocalyptic wasteland is full of walled-off cities free of crime — because they kicked all criminals out before closing their doors. Those criminals now roam the wasteland and wreak havoc. We follow Anthony Mackie as a man offered a chance at a better life if he can successfully deliver a package across the dangerous wasteland. Along the way, he teams up with an axe-wielding thief, and faces off against a deranged clown in control of Vegas. 

The trailer gives us huge "Zombieland" vibes, probably because it is executive produced by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who wrote both that movie and "Deadpool." While the trailer is not as meta as either of those movies, it does poke fun at post-apocalyptic stories and plays very tongue-in-cheek.

It remains to be seen whether this will be another winning video game show or a return to the so-called curse. "Twisted Metal" will step up to the race track on July 27, 2023 on Peacock.