Apple TV+ Dates Mattel’s Matchbox Movie for Oct. 9, 2026

Apple TV+ has set an October 9, 2026 release date for Matchbox, the live-action feature inspired by Mattel’s iconic die-cast car brand. The premiere timing and first-look images were unveiled Tuesday during Apple TV’s press day presentation for the Skydance Media production.

Headlined by John Cena, the action-adventure also stars Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris and Arturo Castro. The film is directed by Sam Hargrave, known for the Extraction franchise, marking his latest large-scale studio outing.

Matchbox is described as a high-octane, globe-trotting adventure that centers on a tight-knit group of childhood friends whose quiet lives are thrown into chaos when their former leader, Sean (Cena), resurfaces after years away. Now working undercover for the CIA, Sean inadvertently pulls the group into a fast-moving international chase that escalates into a race to prevent a global catastrophe.

David Coggeshall wrote the screenplay. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger produce on behalf of Skydance, alongside Robbie Brenner and Ynon Kreiz for Mattel Films and producer Jules Daly. Hargrave serves as an executive producer, as do Patrick Newall and Elizabeth Bassin.

The project continues Mattel’s push to expand its toy brands into live-action film and television, following the success of Barbie, while further bolstering Apple TV+’s slate of event-scale original movies aimed at global audiences.