Watch out Barbie, Apple has unveiled the first look at Sam Hargrave’s Matchbox The Movie based on the beloved Matchbox cars from Mattel, and it looks like a barrel of fun.
As part of the Apple Press TV Day, the streamer has released three images from the upcoming action-adventure movie and has announced that Matchbox The Movie will premiere globally on Apple TV on Friday, October 9, 2026.
The first image, which you can see below, shows Peacemaker star John Cena running between a set of cars, and he looks to be a little bloody and bruised. The second image features Cena, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris, and Arturo Castro, suited and booted in glitzy dresses and tuxedos, walking into what looks like a special event.
The third picture, which you can see above, gives us a little taste of the level of action we can expect to see in the movie, with a helicopter flying above a road where a truck, car, and motorbike are racing ahead. Aside from the Ford pickup in the middle, Matchbox fans might be able to spot that the car to the left is a Ford Mustang GT, which was a popular car in the toy collection.
Inspired by the iconic Mattel toys, Apple describes Matchbox The Movie as an "action-packed, globetrotting adventure about a group of friends since childhood who have their lives upended when undercover CIA agent Sean (John Cena), their long-absent former leader, returns to their small town and unwittingly gets them embroiled in a frantic international pursuit to save the world."
Alongside Cena, Biel, Richardson, Parris, and Castro, the wider cast includes Corey Stoll, Bill Camp, Danai Gurira, Golshifteh Faranhani and more. Hargrave, best known for helming the Extraction movies starring Chris Hemsworth, directs from a script written by David Coggeshall and Jonathan Tropper.
Matchbox The Movie hits Apple TV on October 9, 2026. For more, check out our list of the best Apple TV movies, and keep up with upcoming movies heading your way.
