TWISTED METAL Season 2: Gnarly Cars, Genius Outfits, and Game Inspirations

There are many words that can describe Peacock’s delightfully irreverent series Twisted Metal. It is raunchy, heartfelt, bizarre, and always entertaining, among many other things. But, without two elements, the show wouldn’t be what it is today: cars and costumes. The series, based on the game of the same name, is all about frantic escapes and races in souped up cars designed to withstand the chaos of an apocalypse. And, this universe is full of wild characters, including a music-loving dude called Sweet Tooth who wears a clown mask, lots of body oil, and very tight clothes.

During an August 2024 set visit for Twisted Metal season two in Toronto, Nerdist and several other outlets got to check out a ton of the show’s vehicles and costumes. From busted up trucks with spikes to combat boots ready for a**-kicking adventures, there was a ton to explore. This season will center around the infamous Twisted Metal tournament. John, Quiet, and a host of other drivers will compete against each other in Calypso’s challenges to win it all. And, in order to come out victorious, you’ll need to have a well-defended ride that’s zippy and hella sturdy. 

The props department was in full swing during our visit, actively crafting and tweaking a slate of vehicles in the series. In some cases, like with Roadkill, there are multiple versions of the car built for obvious (and very smashy) reasons. Considering the apocalypse happened in this universe in 2002, the art department must choose cars before or during that era. 

“Our biggest approach to cars this season is changing the shape of them, having them come in with the base and then raising the wheels, spreading the wheels, making them feel meaner, adding more details to the car to make it feel like each car is the character,” said Production Designer Carey Meyer.

When thinking about which cars fit different groups and characters, many of them felt like no-brainers for a couple reasons. Showrunner MJ Smith, an avid fan of the games, gave his input about which vehicles made the most sense. He’s also offer additional stylistic choices for them. Others just seemed to fit, like Dollface’s crew rolling in Volkswagen Beetles. And, with all the choices, leaning into practical effects and stuntwork was at the forefront of the prop department’s minds. 

“It’s always better to do practical effects and practical actual stuff, physical things,” noted Art Director Guy Roland. “Actors want to interact with them more. You can light them better. It’s cheaper in the end, maybe the take’s a little funnier even… There’s a quality to practicality that you can get with CGI, but it takes way more time, way more money. I’m not the kind of person who would like to leave things ‘til later. My motto in the art department is always fix it in prep, not fix it in post. So if we can make things and take the pressure off CGI, then you’re saving the CGI budget…” 

Yes, it is hard for this crew to see their hard worn get torn apart and perhaps blown to smithereens. But they push past the sadness and remember that it is all a part of the great design. Speaking of design, costuming is a vital aspect of Twisted Metal as well. You gotta look even better than your ride! 

The series largely eschews the typical monochromatic and bleak fashion of most apocalypse sagas. Costume designer Liz Vastola gave us a close look at the threads that she’s meticulously pieced together for Twisted Metal. Quiet’s jacket, which she wears in honor of her brother and her heritage, and Dollface’s goth inspired getup are just two of many instantly recognizable looks that were on display.

When it comes to costuming, Vastola has the task of creating an aesthetic for a character that fits their backstory and persona while also thinking about practicality. Needless to say, the actors (both main and stunt) need to be able to move and have some level of comfort. 

“On this show, there’s an added element of not only the stunt performer and the cast needing to be able to move, but also thinking about the driving of it all and characters that are on a bike or on an ATV and how that’s affecting everything, and the special effects and the visual effects,” Vastola told us. “And I think it’s just always being mindful of everybody’s range of motion and as you’re trying on the looks and as you’re sort of talking it through with the different departments and the cast themselves, making sure everybody can do as much as they need to do while they’re trying the clothes on.

“Then working from there to see, okay, where’s the line between the look and the silhouette we want versus what we need to sneak in there to engineer certain things that make it easier for them to act and not have to think about it on the day [of shooting].” 

For example, a character like Grimm who rides a motorcycle may need to have some inserts of fabric that are stretchy yet don’t take away from the main material to hold up for stunt work. Or, in the case of Dollface and others who wear tighter clothing, pads have to be carefully fitted into the outfit to keep the stunt actors safe. Vastola says she sometimes makes up to 6-8 versions of an outfit depending on the character. And, because it is the apocalypse, there are characters who stitch together fabrics and existing pieces to craft their looks. Things are not supposed to look clean and put together, which the costuming team leans into. 

“We sometimes don’t finish off a seam, we keep things top stitched and then frayed so you can really see the hand of the artist as opposed to just other times where we finish off a seam,” Vastola affirmed. She noted this with a Dollface outfit that includes a piece of a man’s pants that now functions as a pocket. There’s even a part of a VW Beetle (yes, the car) that is now a part of her cape. 

Vastola also spoke about Quiet’s jacket and how actress Stephanie Beatriz helped to hone her character’s look. “For Quiet’s jacket, we did quite a lot,” she said. “It’s pretty much the same idea, but we remade it in a different velvet. We added quite a lot of a Couture on it. One of the things that Stephanie talked about, which I thought was really inspiring, is bringing in a little thinking of Quiet as Mexican and bringing in some visual references from that sort of artistic culture. And this is a classic Mexican art that you might see in a variety of different points in time in the culture… And you’ll see, I mean her tournament outfit I think takes the Matador idea to really kicks it up and off.”

As far as John’s wardrobe, the costume department wanted to make sure that his aesthetic matched his new life. “[With] first season John, there was definitely a cheekiness to [his wardrobe] and it was a bit boxier and it was a little bit more kind of lumbering for him, but it told a story. And then his second season looks, starts sleeker for him, a little bit more kind of superhero weave, tailored kind of a feel.”

If there’s one thing that Anthony Mackie knows how to do, it is look like a superhero. Slipping on the ride gear and sliding into the driver’s seat of a sweet ride for the battle of the apocalypse is everyday life for Twisted Metal’s main players. And, after seeing the goods up close and personal, it is going to be even sweeter to watch this tournament go down when the show returns on July 31.