The Matchbox cars movie is coming whether you like it or not. First it came for John Cena; then, Jessica Biel and Sam Richardson signed on. If you are now trying to figure out what sort of Matchbox car each of these actors would best personify, I’m right there with you. But something else appears to be afoot in this film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it is “an action-packed, globetrotting adventure and centers on a group of childhood friends who must work together to stop an impending worldwide disaster and rediscover their friendship along the way.”
So… will they drive cars? Is this a quiet and children’s-toy branded attempt to create a franchise to rival the Fast and Furious films? What does Vin Diesel think about this?
At any rate, the latest addition to what we can only assume will soon be a new MCU (Matchbox Cinematic Universe) is Monica Rambeau herself: Teyonah Parris, who along with her Marvel appearances (in WandaVision and The Marvels, pictured above) also starred in They Cloned Tyrone, Dear White People, and Candyman.
Matchbox comes to us unbidden from director Sam Hargrave, who made the unfortunate Extraction for Netflix, and writers David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill) and Jonathan Tropper (the creator of Warrior, and also a novelist). Tropper’s involvement is the most interesting thing happening behind the camera; it’s basically impossible not to think of how Mattel brought arty Greta Gerwig on to make millions out of Barbie. It remains to be seen if tiny toy cars can be made to create the same magic.