This year, Apple, Skydance, and Mattel’s Matchbox movie finally shifted into drive three years after it was first announced to be in development. Expected to premiere sometime in 2026, the film is set to be an action-packed adventure set in the world of thetoy cars created by Lesney Products in 1953, following a group of childhood friends who reunite to stop a global catastrophe. To ensure it lives up to the promised thrills, the studios brought aboard action favorite John Cena to lead the cast and tapped Sam Hargrave, known for helming the explosive Chris Hemsworth-led Extraction movies, to direct. Now, producer Jules Daly is vouching for the level of high-octane goodness viewers can expect from the blockbuster project.

During a Q&A at a screening for Mark Wahlberg‘s newest action movie, Play Dirty, hosted by Collider’s Steve Weintraub and also featuring director Shane Black and executive producer Susan Downey, Daly was asked what she could tease about Matchbox. It’s one of the more intriguing features Mattel has in the works, following the success of Barbie, for several reasons. For one, the toy brand is a curious choice to adapt since, unlike the famed doll brand, which had multiple characters and an iconic aesthetic to work with, Matchbox is all about its miniature model cars. Moreover, the film will be Hargrave’s first feature-length directorial effort outside of Extraction, putting his action sensibilities from both those films and his days as a stunt coordinator to the test. He’s also working with a script from David Coggeshall and Your Friends and Neighbors creator Jonathan Tropper and a star-studded cast around Cena, featuring Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Arturo Castro, Teyonah Parris, Randeep Hooda, Danai Gurira, and Corey Stoll.

Daly couldn’t go into specifics, but she promised the action is much bigger than you can imagine when thinking of Matchbox cars. “It’s Matchbox on steroids, I would say, action-wise,” she shared. “I would definitely say it’s the best and most fun action movie I’ve ever made in a PG-13 way.” Considering she’s been attached to a wide range of action-adjacent projects, from the Liam Neeson survival thriller The Grey to Chris Pratt‘s sci-fi epic The Tomorrow War and, now, Mark Wahlberg’s heist flick Play Dirty, Daly has plenty of perspective on the genre. In terms of the cast, she added that, “Cena was great. He was great with Jessica Biel,” highlighting their chemistry and how it adds to the fun of Matchbox, along with some wild stunt work. “They’ve got this incredible chemistry, and it’s just a whole lot of fun, with stunts that are pretty off-the-charts.”

In a separate conversation with Steve Weintraub earlier this year, John Cena had similar praise for Sam Hargrave’s upcoming movie, even teasing that Matchbox will be more character-driven than the hit Extraction films:

“The thing I love about Matchbox is Sam also gets to flex a little range. He gets to tell stories. I’m not saying Extraction didn’t have those, but he gets to lean into a lot of character arc. Everyone will be blown away by the action.”

What Is ‘Play Dirty’ About?

As viewers wait for Matchbox to race into theaters, Daly’s latest production has just made it to streaming on Prime Video on October 1. Play Dirty is the latest attempt to adapt Donald E. Westlake‘s Parker series to the screen, namely the first novel, The Hunter. Wahlberg stars as Parker, who eyes an opportunity at the heist of a lifetime with help from a crack team of thieves, including Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield) and Zen (Rosa Salazar). Despite their expertise, however, they face an uphill battle to pull off the job, going up against a South American dictator, the New York mafia, and the world’s richest man. It’s a gritty caper packed with firepower in its ensemble, including Keegan-Michael Key, Chukwudi Iwuji, Nat Wolff, Thomas Jane, and Tony Shalhoub.

The film also marks Black’s first writing and directorial credit since 2018’s much-maligned The Predator, yet he hasn’t shown much rust since then in the eyes of Collider’s Nate Richard. He gave the film a 7/10 in his review, writing of the director that “he’s still capable of delivering an equal parts funny and action-heavy comedy with all the trademarks that make us love him as a filmmaker.”

Matchbox is expected to crash into theaters sometime in 2026. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the action flick as it draws near.

Release Date

October 1, 2025

Runtime

125 Minutes

Director

Shane Black

Writers

Donald E. Westlake, Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi

Producers

James W. Skotchdopole, Jules Daly, Marc Toberoff, Robert Downey Jr.