After Barbie, Mattel Is Making A Matchbox Cars Film With John Cena

If you were like me as a kid, you might have played with Matchbox cars, pushing these tiny scale model creations along the carpet and imagining what it would be like to drive them in real life. Soon, there will be a movie all about them, with John Cena in the lead role.

The Matchbox Cars movie follows the phenomenal success of another film from Mattel’s extensive lineup of toys, Barbie. That film became the biggest box office hit of 2023, grossing nearly $1.5 billion worldwide. It received nine Golden Globe nominations and eight Academy Award nominations, winning two and one, respectively.

The Matchbox line of die-cast toys was invented in 1953 by automotive enthusiast Jack Odell, and a movie about them will be brought to life thanks to Apple Original Films. It will join several other toy-based films from Mattel that are in the works, including one about Hot Wheels and even Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.

Read: John Cena’s Daily Driver Is A Honda Civic Type R

Producing the Matchbox film will be David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, and Robbie Brenner, while directing will be Sam Hargrave, the man behind Extraction and Extraction II, starring Chris Hemsworth.

No details about the film’s plot have been made public, but Cena looks like a great match for the movie. The professional wrestler and actor has been a keen car enthusiast his entire life and still owns the 1989 Jeep Wrangler he purchased with his very first WWE paycheck. He has also owned a stripped-down Ultima Evolution, a Superlite Ford GT replica, a Radical track car, 1970 Plymouth Superbird, a black Lamborghini Countach, and several American muscle cars. He daily drives a 2024 Honda Civic Type R.

While there’s no official word on the release date for the Matchbox film, the announcement is fresh, and filming hasn’t even begun. So, it looks like we might have to wait a while before we see Cena zooming around in miniature form.