Anthony Mackie is an accomplished actor who seems to have no problem landing major roles, whether it be for mechanical-winged superheroes or more grounded characters in critically acclaimed dramas.
Despite the recent news of Mackie cementing his role as Captain America in a fourth installment for Marvel Studios, Deadline has revealed that the actor intends to get even busier by starring in Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions’ live-action adaptation of Twisted Metal, the popular vehicular combat franchise spawned by defunct 1990s developer SingleTrac.
The Twisted Metal franchise has received various entries over the years since the first game’s release in 1995 for the original PlayStation console, but all of them are similar in that they host a range of interesting characters who must kill one another in a variety of vehicles ranging from cop cars to ice cream trucks in order to win the titular tournament.
“We’re thrilled to have Anthony Mackie on board,” said Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions. “His ability to blend comedy, action and drama is perfect for the Twisted world we’re creating.”
Twisted Metal is a high-octane action comedy based on an original take by Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.
Mackie will play a character called John Doe. Doe is the driver of Roadkill in Twisted Metal: Black and Twisted Metal: Lost, but Mackie’s version appears to be a vastly different interpretation.
Doe is a smart-ass milkman who talks as fast as he drives. With no memory of his past, he gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his wish of finding community come true, but only if he can survive an onslaught of savage vehicular combat.
“We’ve been big fans of Anthony’s phenomenal body of work over the years and knew he was the only actor who could play a character as complex, funny and compelling as John Doe,” said Glenn Adilman, EVP Comedy Development at Sony TV. “Fortunately for us, he agreed.”
Source: Deadline