Matchbox: The Movie
2026 American film
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Matchbox: The Movie is a 2026 American action comedy film directed by Sam Hargrave and written by David Coggeshall, based on the toy brand Matchbox by Mattel. It stars John Cena, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Arturo Castro, and Teyonah Parris.
| Matchbox: The Movie | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Sam Hargrave |
| Written by | David Coggeshall |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Pedro Luque |
| Edited by | Dirk Westervelt[1] |
| Music by | Alex Belcher |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Apple TV |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 126 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Matchbox: The Movie was released in the United States on Apple TV on October 9, 2026. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.
Plot
Spy and former soldier Sean Walker reunites with childhood friends only to be drugged and kidnapped by a group looking for a nuclear warhead. The CIA believes Walker and his friends stole the nuclear weapon, so the group decides to re-steal the bomb and clear their names.[3]
Cast
- John Cena as Sean Walker[3]
- Graham Harvey as young Sean Walker
- Jessica Biel[3] as Aimee
- Reagan Marum as young Aimee
- Sam Richardson[3] as Crosby
- Aiden Stoxx as young Crosby
- Arturo Castro[3] as Ted
- Max Fox as young Ted
- Teyonah Parris[3] as Charmaine
- Braxton Paul as young Charmaine
- Randeep Hooda[4] as Mustafa
- Danai Gurira[5] as Helen
- Kristoffer Hivju as Grigor
- Corey Stoll[6] as Mosier
- Bill Camp[7] as Smalley
- Golshifteh Farahani[7] as Robbie
- Tornike Gogrichiani as Eastbrook
- Daniel Bernhardt as Falko
Production
In May 2024, Skydance Media and Mattel Films were developing a live-action film based on the toy brand Matchbox. Sam Hargrave had been hired to direct the film, and David Coggeshall and Jonathan Tropper were writing the screenplay.[8] In September, John Cena joined the cast in the lead role.[9] In November, Jessica Biel joined the cast in an undisclosed role.[10] In December, Sam Richardson, Arturo Castro, and Teyonah Parris joined the cast in undisclosed roles.[11][12][13] Randeep Hooda, Danai Gurira, Corey Stoll, Bill Camp, and Golshifteh Farahani would later be added to the cast.[4][5][6][7]
Filming began in Budapest in January 2025, with additional filming taking place in Casablanca in March, as evidenced by social media posts showing lead actor John Cena filming action car scenes on location.[14] Scenes were also filmed in Erfoud and Merzouga.[15] Production occurred in Slovakia (Filming wrapped on April 7, 2025[16]) and Los Angeles.[17]
Release
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 22% of 27 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.8/10.[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 46 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[21]
