You'd think that twenty years of minimal progress would force studios to cancel a project, but you'd be wrong. The live-action Hot Wheels movie, which first started development in 2003, is apparently still happening with its writers now having finally signed on after all this time.
Deadline reveals that Dalton Leeb and Nicholas Jacobson-Larson will help bring the best-selling Mattel toy franchise live-action adaptation to life with Warner Brothers Discovery and JJ Abram's Bad Robot. Both have worked together on several projects in the past, including Endurance, which premiered on Netflix, and a comedic behind-the-scenes story of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Strongman. Currently, the two are working on The Fall, an alien invasion movie directed and produced by Shawn Levy.
The formation of Mattel Films in 2018 paved the way for the creation of live-action adaptations of the toy maker's best-selling products. The division's first two projects will be Barbie and Masters of the Universe. The former finally got its first trailer last year ahead of its premiere on July 21. The latter is expected to hit movie theaters at some point next year.
After these two, Mattel will work on film adaptations of Wishbone, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Polly Pocket, Matchbox, and its first project based on a third-party IP, Christmas Balloon.
Hot Wheels is not a stranger to crossing over to other media. From standalone video game adaptations and expansions, a lot of projects based on Hot Wheels have come out in recent years. But, live-action adaptations of toylines don't always fare well at the global box office. It'll be interesting to see how a live-action Hot Wheels film will stay true to the source material without alienating both casual audiences and hardcore fans of the toys, the majority of which are collectors.
The live-action Hot Wheels film doesn't have a director let alone a release date, at the moment.
Speaking of live-action adaptations of toys, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, will premiere on June 9.
