Matchbox The Movie Comic-Con Trailer: John Cena's Bland-Looking Spy Thriller Doesn't Do Its Cast Any Favors

In 2022, we learned there was a Matchbox cars movie in the works, because why not. This is the age where IP reigns supreme, and it seems that even extends to a brand of toy cars everyone only sort of remembers playing with. What could a studio possibly do with so little in terms of story and this level of cultural recognition? After all, it's not like Matchbox is as widely known and beloved as Barbie or G.I. Joe. Well, we just got our first indication with Apple TV's "Matchbox The Movie" trailer, which dropped at San Diego Comic-Con. At the very least, it certainly looks about as action-packed as you might expect, given the director of the "Extraction" movies is overseeing this adaptation.

Of course, by adaptation, I mean wringing some sort of story out of little die-cast cars. Sam Hargrave, who gave us that sort of impressive, sort of eye-glaze-inducing 21-minute oner in "Extraction 2," has marshaled the talents of John Cena, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris, and more to produce a film that, according to Apple TV, is "an action-packed, globetrotting adventure." The movie follows a group of childhood friends who are shocked when their former buddy Sean (John Cena), now an undercover CIA agent, returns to their small town and enlists their help to save the world.

It's all sort of baffling, really. The movie is set to premiere in October on Apple TV, but for now, enjoy this trailer and decide for yourself whether Cena's latest action comedy required the Matchbox branding or not.

Well, while there's an unmistakable streaming movie blandness to this one, there are nevertheless a few positive things we can say about the trailer. For one, much of "Matchbox The Movie" looks like it was actually shot in real locations, including the stunts. That is, unfortunately, an increasingly rare thing in our AI garbage future, but it's not surprising in this case, seeing as Sam Hargrave is directing.

What's more, there are actually a few decent gags, like when Arturo Castro's character fails to pull off the legendary shotgun flip reload from "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." We've even got what appears to be some decent chemistry between the leads, and there might just be something to a warm-hearted Jessica Biel taming a lugubrious John Cena.

Still, the question remains: What does any of this have to do with "Matchbox?" Sure, there's a bunch of cars, and the main characters apparently used to play with the toys when they were younger. But the movie looks like an action comedy about a spy who accidentally gets his childhood friends caught up in some sort of nefarious global threat. No matter how many ways the trailer reworks Ludacris' "Roll Out," we can't help but wonder why this movie needed any Matchbox branding in the first place. 

Of course, we'll have to hold off on judging the film entirely until it drops on Apple TV October 9, 2026.