John Cena Driven to Star in ‘Matchbox’ Movie

John Cena presents the Oscar® for Costume Design during the live ABC telecast of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Credit/Provider: Richard Harbaugh ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

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John Cena is starring in a movie based on the ‘Matchbox’ toy cars.
‘Extraction’s Sam Hargrave will direct.
Apple and Skydance are backing the new movie.

The success ripples from the behemoth that was ‘Barbie’ continue to spread, as Mattel is looking to tap into another of its classic playtime brands.

And John Cena, who knows a thing or two about vehicular mayhem after appearing a couple of the ‘Fast & Furious’ entries is aboard for the ride as the company looks to turn Matchbox toy cars into a viable movie.

Skydance is working with Mattel to produce the new movie, currently simply titled ‘Matchbox’ which Apple Original Films has already snapped up.

What are Matchbox toys?

Mattel’s Matchbox Cars. Photo: Mattel.com.

For those who didn’t play with the toys (surely there can’t many people who don’t know what they are), Matchbox is the toy brand first created in 1953 and acquired by Mattel in 1997. After competing with Matchbox in the die-cast car space with its own line, Hot Wheels.

According to lore, automotive enthusiast Jack Odell designed the first car for his daughter, who was allowed to take a toy to school only if it was small enough to fit in a matchbox. When his daughter’s school friends too began clamoring for a “matchbox car,” an iconic brand was born.

That Matchbox is now moving forward is an interesting wrinkle, since studios and filmmakers have tried to get a Hot Wheels movie into production for years now.

What’s the story of the ‘Matchbox’ movie?

Mattel’s Matchbox Cars. Photo: Mattel.com.

Right now, the actual plot for the movie is a mystery. While we’re by no means expecting the lighting-in-a-bottle social satire and genius goofiness of ‘Barbie,’ the new movie may well go down the family-friendly, life-lessons route. Though in his defense, Cena (who cameoed in ‘Barbie’) has also shown a willingness to explore more cleverly comedic takes on properties.

The script for the new movie comes from David Coggeshall, who wrote Mark Wahlberg action comedy ‘The Family Plan’ for Apple, and Jonathan Tropper, who co-wrote the Ryan Reynolds action-adventure movie ‘The Adam Project.’

Who else is working on the ‘Matchbox’ movie?

Chris Hemsworth in ‘Extraction’. Photo: Netflix.

Sam Hargrave, the stunt coordinator-turned-director who crafted the two ‘Extraction’ Netflix movies starring Chris Hemsworth, is aboard to make ‘Matchbox.’ Which would point to plenty of car and other set piece chaos, albeit in slightly less violent fashion than the usual Extr-action.

Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger are producing this one alongside Robbie Brenner for Mattel Films.

“When the mission ends, redemption begins”

R1 hr 56 minApr 24th, 2020

When will the ‘Matchbox’ movie be on screens?

There is currently no release date set for the movie, but with a script seemingly in place and a lead officially cast, we’d expect the wheels (and cameras) to start rolling on this one before too long. If we had to guess, we’d say a 2026 release isn’t out of the question.