One WWE star who has also become one of the biggest names in action movies has officially signed on for his next project. A new report from THR revealed that John Cena will officially star in Matchbox, the next chapter in Mattel Films after the success of Barbie. Sam Hargrave, best known for working as a stunt coordinator for years and most recently directing Chris Hemsworth in both Extraction movies, is on board to direct. Apple Original Films has acquired the rights to Matchbox, meaning it will likely follow the same model as movies like Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, and receive a normal theatrical release before premiering exclusively on Apple TV+ after. Cena is the only one confirmed to star in Matchbox, and additional casting for the film is ongoing.
The script for Matchbox comes from David Coggeshall and Jonathan Tropper. The former is best known for penning the screenplay for The Family Plan, the Mark Wahlberg-led action comedy which is also streaming on Apple TV+. Most recently, he wrote the script for The Deliverance, the horror movie featuring Glenn Close that has been dominating the Netflix top 10 chart. Tropper is best known for creating Warrior, the hit HBO series starring Andrew Koji and Jason Tobin, and he also wrote seven episodes of the Jason Momoa-led Apple TV+ series, See. Tropper also worked with Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy before they teamed up for Deadpool & Wolverine on the 2022 Netflix original sci-fi movie The Adam Project, which also stars Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, and Zoe Saldaña.
What Are John Cena’s Most Recent Roles?
One of Cena‘s most famous roles came in 2018 when he starred alongside Hailee Steinfeld in Bumblebee, the Transformers spin-off movie which is currently streaming on Paramount+. He also plays the role of Jakob in the Fast & Furious movies, with his most recent appearance coming in Fast X. Cena also previously teamed up with Mattel in 2023 when he played a small role as Merman Ken in Barbie, and shortly after, he starred alongside Alison Brie and Christian Slater in Freelance. This year, Cena played Wyatt in Argylle, Mr. 206 in the Kevin Hart-led Die Hart 2: Die Harter, and Noel in Jackpot!, the Prime Video original action movie also starring Awkwafina.
Matchbox does not yet have an official release date. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates on the project and watch Cena in Peacemaker, now streaming on Max.
via Collider