John Cena is strapping in for a new car-based franchise in the first images for Matchbox.
Hailing from Extraction franchise director Sam Hargrave, the film serves as an adaptation of Mattel’s classic toy line, with the plot centering on Cena as Sean, a CIA agent who returns to his small town after a mission goes awry and inadvertently gets his childhood friend group wrapped up in an adventure to save the world. Alongside Cena, the Matchbox cast is set to include Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Arturo Castro, Teyonah Parris, Danai Gurira and Corey Stoll.
Now, as part of the streamer’s unveiling of their 2026 film and TV slate, Apple TV has unveiled the first Matchbox movie images. The stills show Cena’s protagonist as he races through a street full of cars, as well as he and his friends walking into a building in a scene reminiscent of the Fast & Furious franchise and an action-packed scene involving multiple types of vehicles. The streamer has also announced that the film will make its global debut on October 9. Check out the images below:
Matchbox marks Mattel Films’ third film to adapt one of the toy company’s iconic properties, which memorably began with the blockbuster hit Barbie. More notably, it marks one of two efforts from the studio to get a 2026 release date, with the Cena-led action film coming on October 9, while being preceded by the long-gestating Masters of the Universe reboot that’s set to hit theaters on June 5.
Additionally, Matchbox looks to keep Apple TV’s win streak alive in their continued partnership with Skydance. After beginning on a mixed note with the animated adventure Luck and biographical war dramedy The Greatest Beer Run Ever, the streamer found major success with the back-to-back releases of the Mark Wahlberg-led The Family Plan and Scott Derrickson’s The Gorge, which each set a new record for Apple TV’s biggest original film launch.
14 Upcoming Movies Based On Mattel Toys Releasing After Barbie
Mattel Films has announced numerous developments to turn its famous toys into major motion pictures, all inspired by the massive success of Barbie.
Though they may seem a bit generalized, the images themselves also offer a good expectation of what’s to come from Matchbox. For starters, Hargrave looks to be maintaining his practical-first approach to action, with the shot of the various vehicles racing down a highway proving to be a good indication of such. This also sets up the film to be the perfect Fast and Furious replacement for Cena after his character’s apparent demise in Fast X.
The other thing the Matchbox images seem to establish about the film is it being more of an inspired-by approach to the Mattel franchise. The toy brand itself never really expanded into original storytelling in the way the Hot Wheels brand has in the past, thus giving Hargrave and his writing duo, Orphan: First Kill‘s David Coggeshall and The Wrecking Crew‘s Jonathan Tropper, free rein to bring it to life on screen. With the aforementioned highway shot seeing a good variety of vehicles in action, much like the toys’ variation, and a star-studded cast behind it, it will be interesting to see how well Matchbox resonates with those who grew up with the Mattel brand.
- Director
-
Sam Hargrave
- Writers
-
David Coggeshall, Jonathan Tropper
