Twisted Metal fans, our wait is (somewhat) over. After showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith confirmed in April that fan-favorite Axel would make his live-action debut in Season 2, we’ve all been wondering how they’d bring a half-man, half-vehicle to life. The first trailer of the season gives us our best look yet—and he looks incredible.
In the chaotic trailer, sadistic ringleader Calypso (Anthony Carrigan) introduces this season’s characters to his Twisted Metal tournament, where the winner is granted any wish they desire. Once those stakes are established, all bets are off. We see Sweet Tooth launching missiles, John (Anthony Mackie) dodging lightning bolts, and Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz) slicing a man open in a way that’s somehow seductive. But we’d already seen most of that in the Season 2 clip released last month. What did shock us was Axel steamrolling through the competition.
Back in April, Smith explained that Axel didn’t appear in the first season because they hadn’t yet solved one crucial challenge: “How do you do a character that is literally a giant muscular man stuck between two gigantic wheels?” Thankfully, they figured it out. Using a custom-built apparatus that, according to Smith, weighed a ton and required its own trailer, the bipedal beast finally joins the fray this season. While we don’t get a full close-up of Axel with his hands embedded in the massive wheels, we do see actor Michael James Shaw laughing sinisterly, with a clear shot of the mechanical rig strapping one of his arms to the wheel. By the looks of it, the Twisted Metal design team spared no expense in making him look real.
The War Wheel titan is seen racing alongside other vehicles—clearly aided by visual effects—but fans of the Twisted Metal games will appreciate the final result when the new season debuts on Peacock on July 31.