Matchbox: The Movie (2026) — John Cena’s Apple TV Action Comedy
Year: 2026 · Genre: Action / Comedy / Adventure · Status: Now Streaming
Synopsis
Some reunions come with cake. This one comes with a kidnapping, a missing nuclear warhead, and a very angry CIA. Matchbox: The Movie turns Mattel’s tiny die-cast cars into a full-size globe-trotting action comedy, with John Cena leading the charge.
Cena plays Sean Walker, a spy and former soldier who comes home to reconnect with the childhood friends he left behind — only for the reunion to go sideways fast. Sean and his friends are drugged and kidnapped by a group hunting a stolen nuclear weapon, and the CIA is convinced Sean’s crew took it. The only way to clear their names: steal the bomb back themselves.
What follows is a high-speed chase across borders, packed with car stunts, explosions and the kind of camaraderie only old friends can pull off. Directed by Sam Hargrave (Extraction), it’s the toy-brand blockbuster that follows in Barbie’s footsteps — louder, faster, and built around one very big toy box.
Details
- Director: Sam Hargrave (Extraction, Extraction 2)
- Written by: David Coggeshall
- Based on: Matchbox by Mattel
- Release date: October 9, 2026 — streaming on Apple TV (world premiere October 5, 2026, AMC Lincoln Square)
- Where to watch: Apple TV (Apple Original Film — subscription required)
- Runtime: 126 minutes
- Genre: Action / Comedy / Adventure
- Rated: PG-13
- Production: Apple Studios, Skydance Media, Mattel Studios; Distributed by Apple TV
- Reception: Mixed-to-negative reviews
- IMDb: Matchbox: The Movie on IMDb
Cast
- John Cena (Sean Walker)
- Jessica Biel (Aimee)
- Sam Richardson (Crosby)
- Arturo Castro (Ted)
- Teyonah Parris (Charmaine)
- Danai Gurira (Helen)
- Kristoffer Hivju (Grigor)
- Corey Stoll (Mosier)
- Golshifteh Farahani (Robbie)
- Bill Camp (Smalley)
- Randeep Hooda (Mustafa)
- Daniel Bernhardt (Falko)
- Tornike Gogrichiani (Eastbrook)
Trailer
Watch the official trailer for Matchbox: The Movie on YouTube (the official Apple TV trailer cannot be embedded here):
