Twisted Metal‘s second season has just come to a close on Peacock, and showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith, as well as series stars Michael James Shaw, Anthony Carrigan, and Joe Seanoa, have dropped major details regarding the show’s season 2 finale as well as its future in an interview with ScreenRant prior to the show’s premiere.
The season 2 finale just premiered today, August 28, and left things off on a cliffhanger. Twisted Metal is based on the popular video game franchise of the same name. The show’s first season was released on July 27, 2023. In addition to Carrigan, Seanoa, and Shaw, Twisted Metal stars Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Will Arnett, and Thomas Haden Church.
ScreenRant‘s own Liam Crowley had an exclusive chat with Smith, Shaw, Carrigan, and Seanoa (also known as Samoa Joe) before the Twisted Metal season 2 finale aired. During this chat, Axel’s fate was discussed, as well as the build-up to season 3 that is presented in the season 2 finale.
John Doe and Calypso’s complex relationship was also discussed in the interview, as well as Dollface’s true intentions. Check out Smith, Shaw, Carrigan, and Seanoa’s comments below:
Liam Crowley: In the games, at least on the surface level, Axel can just seem like a spectacle of a character. He’s a design rather than someone with a layered backstory. Here in this show, we get to flesh it out in a huge capacity, in a heartbreaking capacity as well because there’s that connection between Axel and Mayhem and they don’t get to fully flesh that out together. Can you talk to me about his death scene, knowing that he wants Mayhem to be taken care of without mayhem knowing really the connection that they have?
Michael James Shaw: Yeah, I thought that MJ, our showrunner, crafted that story beautifully. And back to talking about humanity. Like Anthony was saying, I think a lot of these characters are just searching for their humanity in this crazy post-apocalyptic world, and a lot of them are just on a quest to reconnect with the person that they were before or some semblance of that person that existed before. I feel like Axel, he’s struggling with that greatly because he’s been enslaved and freedom is defined differently for everyone in this world, but I think his action at the end of the season is his only free choice that I think he really gets to make in this whole story. And that’s the only thing he can actually do to rectify all the wrongs that he’s done, and really touch that person that existed prior to all the apocalypse and Dr. Zemu and all that. That’s his only way to touch back home. Hopefully it’s not a death, but maybe, I don’t know. We’ll see. But I hope not.
Liam: That’s fair. I was going to say he’s a big dude, so I don’t know if lightning is enough to take him out permanently.
Michael: We shall see. He does roll off into the sunset, but I don’t know.
Liam: If we don’t get a conversation between Axel and Mayhem addressing everything, I think that’ll be a missed opportunity. So here’s hoping.
Michael: I think he was trying to save her from any more pain as well, so maybe that conversation doesn’t need to happen at all. She’s alive and that’s enough.
Liam Crowley: Anthony, talking to you specifically about some spoilers that happened at the end of the season, blowing up the crowd. Oh my God, I thought Calypso was one of those kind of two face flip the coin, whatever it lands on how it shakes out, we still play by his rules. It seems like he’s kind of an agent of chaos though. Would you say that’s true?
Anthony Carrigan: I think so. I think it’s one of his real powers and this kind of thing that keeps everyone on their toes is you really are not sure what he’s doing next. But I do think that there’s a kind of calculation to it all that is quite terrifying. The lengths to which he is willing to go to bring to fruition this plan that’s kind of been in the works for centuries long time. But yeah, it’s that moment in particular I think is just absolutely wild and truly terrifying. And it just kind of lets everyone know that the stakes are very real.
Liam: As the audience member, I have the luxury of being in rooms that Calypso isn’t necessarily in. And as that season finale shapes out, John Doe’s on a mission and he’s coming for Calypso’s head, he wants to kill him. With that knowledge, now that I’ve bestowed it upon you as if you didn’t know it already, does he fear John Doe at all? Does he take him seriously?
Anthony Carrigan: No, John Doe. Are you kidding? Well, I think, look, Anthony is going to say that on a certain level, I think that there is this recognition, the lengths to which he will go to protect the ones that he loves. And I think that that is something that is probably should be concerning for Calypso, but Calypso also can’t get out of his own way in terms of his own madness. So we’ll see how that dynamic plays out.
Liam: Where does Sweet Tooth find himself as we venture closer to season three? Do you think he will take the alliance of John Doe? Do you think he will side with Calypso? Where is he in this giant war that we’re setting up?
Samoa Joe: Really, I think Sweet Tooth is kind of going on his own odyssey here. Obviously he finds himself in the possession of the great Charlie Kane, pope of New York and father of Sweet Tooth. So we’re definitely going to go down a little bit of a history lane and learn a little bit more about the origins of Sweet Tooth and what makes him tick and hopefully meet his father.
Liam Crowley: I’ll fully wrap with this. I know from the game lore, Calypso kills John Doe. Do you pick and choose what lore you want to adapt completely and what things you want to take in your own direction? Do you already know the end game for the Twisted Metal TV adaptation?
Michael Jonathan Smith: I have a lot of ideas for next season. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I have a lot of ideas for season three. I have an awesome idea for where it goes in season four, but I don’t want to spoil anything for where we go with John Doe’s story and where it goes with Calypso. But I have a really, really cool idea for where things will go.
Liam Crowley: We get a flash of Dollface’s minion’s eyes seeming like there’s maybe some humanity back there. Am I reading too much into it?
Michael Jonathan Smith: I think you’re reading the right amount. I think now we’re looking into what season three looks like and I think episode 12, which I’m really happy with, I love where episode 12 ends. That is totally setting up. Look, I want there to be a lot of discussion about where we end 12 and what does that mean for next season with the war and with John and Mayhem and Minion and Quiet and where we’re setting everything up going into next season. I think there’s a lot to pay off. I think there’s a lot to play with. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun. I think we’ve got some cars to find.
Twisted Metal has not been renewed for a season 3 yet, but it has not been canceled either. Based on the comments made in the interview, it seems likely that another season will happen. Smith stated that they have been building up the setup for season 3 within season 2, like adding new characters, so a third season has likely already been mapped out.
Also, as mentioned in the interview, John Doe does kill Calypso in the games. In order to depict all the lore of the games, several more seasons will have to be developed. Smith stated that he already knows where the show would head in season 4, meaning that as long as Peacock renews the series, audiences will be able to enjoy these characters for a while.
Twisted Metal is a well-done video game adaptation that is extremely entertaining and deserves multiple seasons. It’s very exciting that Smith has multiple new seasons already developed in his head, meaning that there is no reason why Peacock should not renew the series, since it’s one of the streamer’s best TV shows.
It’s also rather thrilling that Smith seems to know the true intentions of all the characters, including Dollface. If the show is renewed for season 3, which it likely will be since so many people love Twisted Metal, then viewers will be in for a wild continuation of a mind-boggling trip that is sure to feature plenty of surprises along the way.
Twisted Metal
7/10
- Release Date
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July 27, 2023
- Network
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Peacock
- Directors
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Jude Weng, Bill Benz
- Writers
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Grant DeKernion, Francesca Gailes, Alyssa Forleiter, Shaun Diston, Becca Black, Alison Tafel
