After picking up the shield as Captain America, Anthony Mackie’s latest role as John Doe - or The Milkman - in Twisted Metal is a touch grimier than the usual Marvel veneer. An adaptation of the rusty 90s vehicle combat series, Mackie’s latest role is more violent (and practical) than the glorious MCU.
With Paramount Plus adding Twisted Metal to its catalogue of video game adaptations alongside the much-improved Halo Season 2 in the UK, we had a chance to speak with the Avengers star about the ongoing trend of video game adaptations.
Joining the likes of HBO’s The Last of Us, The Super Mario Bro. Movie, Gangs of London and Eli Roth’s Borderlands, studios are seemingly more interested in video game adaptations than they were just a decade ago. With the horrid stigma of video game movies somewhat delegated to the past, we asked Mackie why studios are willing to bring games back film again. For Mackie, it’s all about a change in perspective.
“It’s a different generation now,” Mackie told us. “I think if you look at gaming and gaming systems now, it’s much more interactive. And Twisted Metal, as a dad, I can watch this with my son and be like: ‘This is the sh*t that we used to play, this is the sh*t that we used to do.”
Mackie explained that adaptations like Twisted Metal as well as movies like Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario are also integral to connecting with the younger generation. While some of these games may be popular still, these properties are linked across decades of different childhoods.
“For me, it’s the same thing with Super Mario Bros, it’s the same thing with Sonic the Hedgehog, all those movies I watched with my kids because we played the video games together.”
Just like how the 80s kids revived the superhero genre in the 2000s, we’re now seeing a change in generation within Hollywood looking to give video games the light of day again.
“It’s just that [a] new generation has come in,” Mackie said. “There’s always an issue of trying to relate to these little f*ckers. So, it gives you the ability to relate to them without jumping out of a window.”
Twisted Metal is far from the only property making its jump to film and TV. Following the success of Mario, Nintendo is looking to bring The Legend of Zelda to the big screen and even Minecraft is getting a stab at the film treatment. On TV, we’ve got Amazon’s brilliant-looking Fallout series as well as The Last of Us Season 2 and a return for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
Video game fans have suffered with poor adaptations for years, but it finally seems that Hollywood and the TV industry are getting it. While shows like Halo were off to a rough start, some studios have actually started to respect the source material - just like Twisted Metal.
Twisted Metal releases on Paramount Plus in the UK on March 21, 2024.
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