Teyonah Parris has become the latest name to join one of the most intriguing and fun projects in development, as The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that she has signed onto Matchbox, the upcoming comedy-action film from Mattel. Sam Hargrave (best known for his work on the Extraction movies) is directing it. Parris also joins John Cena, who was previously announced as the lead, and Jessica Biel, who was reported to be in negotiations to close a deal to board the project a few weeks ago.
Parris is best known to audiences at this stage for her role as Monica Rambeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She appeared in WandaVision, with the character of Monica first showing up on screen in Captain Marvel as a child. Parris would then go on to reprise her role as Monica Rambeau in The Marvels, which was released a year ago. She appeared alongside Brie Larson and Iman Vellani in the big budget flop. Parris has also appeared in the likes of Dashing Through the Snow, Candyman, They Cloned Tyrone, If Beale Street Could Talk and will soon appear in No Good Deed.
What is ‘Matchbox’ About?
THR‘s HeatVision blog reports that the project is described as an “action-packed, globetrotting adventure and centers on a group of childhood friends who must work together to stop an impending worldwide disaster and rediscover their friendship along the way“, so it sounds like the toys we accidentally stood on in the middle of the night are the real friends we made along the way.
The upcoming movie appears to take inspiration from the beloved Matchbox toy car brand, originally created by automotive enthusiast Jack Odell nearly 70 years ago. Odell designed the first Matchbox car for his daughter, sticking a middle finger up to her school who insisted that any toys had to fit inside of a matchbox, giving the brand its iconic name. Take that, education boards of America.
The project is part of Mattel’s ambitious expansion into films, following the unprecedented success of Barbie last summer, which grossed a Barbillion dollars globally. Mattel, which also has Polly Pocket and Hot Wheels adaptations in the works, is aiming to make Matchbox a cornerstone of its Found in a Charity Shop and Easily Breakable Cinematic Universe. Fun fact: Cena, who stars in Matchbox, also made a memorable appearance in Barbie as a very buff merperson.
via Collider