The live-action movie you never wanted about Matchbox toy cars is moving forward, with John Cena set to star.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cena (Peacemaker, pictured above) has joined the production and will presumably be playing a human character in a world where Matchbox cars rule supreme. (Or not, I made up that plot point since details on the story aren’t public yet.)
The movie is is financially driven by Apple Original Films and Skydance and is revving up its way to production. Sam Hargrave is also on board as director. Hargrave—whose career started as a stunt performer in movies like Atomic Blonde and numerous Marvel films—also directed Netflix’s Extraction movies, which saw Chris Hemsworth as a mercenary who must rescue people from nefarious situations. David Coggeshall (The Family Plan) and Jonathan Tropper (The Adam Project, Shawn Levy’s upcoming Star Wars film) have penned the script.
After the success of Barbie, it’s not surprising to see movies based on popular toy brands get a bit of a boost. Mattel, as this Matchbox movie confirms, is looking to create a Mattel movie universe, and we have a Masters of the Universe film heading to production as well as a slew of other toy-related projects, including one about the Magic 8 Ball, because why not.
The Matchbox brand came about in 1953 and was bought by Mattel in 1997. The brand encompasses a slew of tiny toy cars that, at least at the beginning, were small enough to fit in a matchbox.
No news yet on what size the cars will be in the live-action film or when you’ll see it at a theater near you.
