What if I told you John Cena is about to release an explosive new action-comedy full of fast cars and famous movie stars? No, there isn’t a new Fast & Furious movie coming out anytime soon. Instead, the invisible wrestler is taking a break from the Toretto family for an entirely different franchise: Matchbox: The Movie.
This new movie, inspired by the Mattel toyline of badass miniature cars, might just be the next Barbie. But even if it’s not, one thing is clear, director Sam Hargrave (Extraction) had a heck of a good time making it.
“I really wanted to lean into the practical side of things and see real people driving real cars doing real stunts,” Hargrave tells Polygon.
For Polygon’s 2026 Fall Preview, we connected with Hargrave over email and asked him seven monster truck-sized questions about Matchbox. Check out the answers below.
7
What is the ethos of a Matchbox movie?
It’s easy enough to throw together John Cena, a bunch of cool cars, and some explosions and call it a day. But what makes Matchbox feel like the ultimate Matchbox movie?
“To me, the ethos of a Matchbox movie is embracing your inner child, saying yes to adventure, and thinking ‘inside the box’ as we liked to say on set,” Sam Hargrave says. “This was my chance to make a “throwback” movie, something that felt like a 90’s action film, a way to tip my cap to many of the master filmmakers who paved the way and inspired me as a kid and budding storyteller.”
6
What excited you initially about this movie?
“What excited me most about this movie was the story; the chance to flex my comedic muscles a little bit and tell a really tender story about love and friendship, all wrapped up in huge action movie spectacle,” Hargrave says. “I have always loved matchbox cars and to get to ‘play’ with them in real life, and full size, was an incredible honor.”
5
What does John Cena bring to the lead role?
Cena has already become one of the most bankable action-comedy stars in Hollywood. Putting him in Matchbox feels like a no-brainer, but what does the wrestler-turned-actor bring to the role that nobody else could?
“John Cena brings a level of charm, charisma, wit and action prowess to the screen with the character of Sean that I don’t think audiences have ever seen before from Cena,” Hargrave says. “It was really great to be a part of. He is an incredible collaborator. He’s early every day and his first words are, ‘How can I be useful today?’ He’s been a fan of Matchbox cars his whole life and is a serious car enthusiast, so he jumped at the chance to join us. We had some discussions early on about how much I was going to ask of him every day and he never backed down from the challenge. We pushed each other on set to be the best version of ourselves and I’m grateful for that relationship. We became friends and it was an honor and privilege to work with him. Hopefully we can do it again soon.”
Hargrave mastered the modern action movie with Netflix’s Extraction movies. For his latest challenge, he’s bringing those skills to Matchbox while injecting a dose of comedy.
“Working in the Extraction world has taught me so many things about making movies, about action, working with actors, finding the right crew, managing money, time, etc,” Hargrave says. “All things that as a filmmaker you learn with time and experience. I will be bringing more comedy to the screen this time, getting to flex that muscle a bit more, which I really enjoyed doing. Comedy was a huge inspiration of mine growing up so I was able to run with those instincts a bit more with a film like this.
3
How have car stunts evolved over the last 20 years?
Hargrave is pushing the limits of motor vehicle filmmaking with Matchbox. But how have these limits advanced in the past couple of decades?
“Safety precautions have improved and visual effects allow us to incorporate more of those elements that we can later remove in post,” Hargrave says. “Though, for this film, I really wanted to lean into the practical side of things and see real people driving real cars doing real stunts.”
This led to some pretty spectacular moments that actually happened for real on set.
“When you see a car roll over 14 times in the film, that is a real car, driven by a real stunt driver,” Hargrave says. “When you see a helicopter fly under an underpass that was done for real. When we sent a semi-truck and trailer off of a 200-foot bridge, we did it for real! That methodology was very innovative and our special effects team incorporated remote driving technology to allow them to ‘drive’ the truck off a bridge, from behind the cameras via a remote system. So, we got the best of both worlds — no one was hurt and, as an audience, we get to experience a real, full-sized semi-truck and trailer sailing off a 200-foot tall bridge. Incredible to witness.”
2
Do you feel a lot of pressure to repeat the success of Barbie?
After Barbie became the biggest movie of 2023, toymaker Mattel announced plans for several more toy-to-movie adaptations. Matchbox will be first to cross the finish line. So does it share any DNA with Barbie, or is Hargrave trying to chart his own path forward?
“I actually don’t feel pressure because Barbie is its own thing,” Hargrave says. “It was a great movie and cultural phenomenon based on a HUGELY successful toy. Matchbox also is its own thing. It’s more loosely based on the toys than the Barbie movie was and it has a very nostalgic element that I think fans of action films will appreciate. It’s kind of like a love letter to action movies from the 90s in a way. It is a very different movie than Barbie for sure. There are probably more laughs than people will be expecting. It’s a fun adventure of a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
1
Did you have a bunch of Matchbox cars as a kid?
Not only did the director play with Matchbox cars, but he’s actually used them to help make movies in the past.
“I did have Matchbox cars as a kid,” Hargrave says. “I had a black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that I loved. Among many others. Interestingly enough, I used Matchbox cars all the time as a stunt coordinator and 2nd unit director. We carried them in our kit and anytime we were explaining a car sequence to the crew, out came the cars and we would demonstrate what was going to happen to the cast and crew. It was super useful and so awesome to get to use that SAME technique while on the set of a Matchbox movie!”
