Joining the ranks of Polly Pocket, Uno and Masters of the Universe, Matchbox is the latest toy line to get the movie treatment from Mattel Films.
Mattel is partnering with Skydance for the project based on the toy vehicle line, which was popularized in the ’50s and ’60s as miniatures of cars that were small enough to fit in a — you guessed it — matchbox. According to Mattel, one Matchbox car is sold every second.
David Coggeshall, who was behind Paramount’s Orphan: First Kill and Lee Daniels’s upcoming untitled Netflix possession thriller, is writing the screenplay for the project. For Mattel Films, the Matchbox project will be led by Elizabeth Bassin and Andrew Scannell. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger and Aimee Rivera will oversee for Skydance Media.
Mattel has a packed development slate, which includes projects that range from American Girl and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots to Thomas & Friends and Wishbone. The company is in production on Sony’s live-action Barbie movie, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and hails from writer-director Greta Gerwig.
For its part, Skydance is still in theaters with the massively successful Top Gun: Maverick, which recently passed $600 million at the domestic box office, and has the next two Mission: Impossible films in the pipeline.