Matchbox, the upcoming movie based on Mattel’s beloved toy-car brand, has put filmmaker Sam Hargrave in the director’s chair. Mattel, riding high on the success of Barbie last year, has a number of big film projects in the works. Hargrave is a celebrated stunt performer with years working on some of Hollywood’s biggest action blockbusters. He started his feature directorial career in 2020 with Extraction, and also directed the second installment in that Netflix franchise, which stars Chris Hemsworth and is produced by Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo.
Videos by ComicBook.com
David Coggeshall and Jonathan Tropper are writing the Matchbox script for Mattel Films and Skydance, according to Deadline. Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger will produce the film, along with Robbie Brenner for Mattel Films.
“For nearly 70 years, Matchbox has carried enormous cultural relevance and inspired generations of kids to unleash their imaginations, combining what they see in the world every day with what they dream their own world to be,” Robbie Brenner, executive producer of Mattel Films, said in a statement last June. “We look forward to working with our incredible partners at Skydance Media to craft a story for the big screen that evokes the same, imaginative spirit of this beloved Mattel franchise and delights fans of all ages.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Robbie Brenner and her amazing creative team at Mattel,” Don Granger, president of feature films at Skydance, said in a statement at the time. “Pairing Skydance’s unique brand of premium, elevated action-adventure entertainment with the incredible legacy of the Matchbox brand is a fantastic opportunity. There is a shared experience for everyone who has played with a Matchbox vehicle or playset, where they create their own inventive action sequence and we’re excited to craft a worldwide adventure film worthy of such imagination.”
Skydance has been in the news recently for their attempts to merge with Paramount. It is not yet clear whether those attempts will be successful. Skydance’s offer faces competition from an investor group with ties to Sony Pictures.
Per the Deadline story, Matchbox is being developed by Aimee Rivera for Skydance and Elizabeth Bassin and Andrew Scannell for Mattel Films.
Hargrave will next direct the pilot episode of the upcoming Apple TV+ series The Last Frontier, on which he also serves as an executive producer. The show centers on a lone marshal (Jason Clarke) in charge of a large area of rural Alaska, whose life is turned upside down by a crashed prison transport plane.
