Good News Anyone!
Today there have been some exciting (Ironic?) Announcements made regarding Mattel's ambitious plan to turn 45 of it's brands into Film and TV projects as part of a Shared Universe, possibly a Mattel Cinematic Universe (or MCU for sort)
First off we got our first look at Matchbox: The Movie, based on Matchbox Cars, Premiering October 9 over on Apple TV and starring John Cena, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris and Arturo Castro.
This movie could literally be anything going off these stills but I don't mind this cast. I'm more so shocked this got off the ground first before the also in development Hot Wheels Movie. I feel like that one has more marquee value and potential.
The other news today is the announcement of another one of the 45 Brands getting adapted. Tony the Tattooed Man!
Yes you're reading this correctly (the 2nd and 3rd screenshots come from the Mattel Corporate page on the announcement). Tony the Tattooed Man, a toy I, and I assume many of you, have NEVER heard of, is getting a feature feature film from Director Tracie Laymon. Again, like many of the other projects announced for this 45 Film/Show Plan, this could literally be anything.
Also speaking of Mattel's Corporate site, I checked a look at their brand portfolio page and excluding Partner Brands like Disney or WWE, Mattel has a total of 214 Brands listed here, which is A LOT. Of those 214, 45 of those are getting adapted into Film and TV Projects, and we currently only know about 16 of those projects:
Masters of The Universe (2026) releasing this June
Matchbox, releasing on Apple TV this October
the Magic 8 Ball series from M. Night Shyamalan
A Shani streaming show from Amazon with Janine Nabers as showrunner
An Uno Movie (yes really)
A Hot Wheels movie from Director Jon M. Chu
Rock 'Em Sock'Em Robots with Vin Diesel to Write, Produce, and Star in the film
a movie called Wish Balloon, based on a true story (announced in 2021 but some articles lump it in with the 45 brands thing)
Major Matt Mason, an old Mattel action figure who's had a film stuck in development hell for a while also lumped in with the 45 brands
Wac-A-Mole, a Live Action/Animated Hybrid Film
A Polly Pocket Movie with Reese Witherspoon as Producer
An American Girl Film from Paramount Pictures (very concerned)
A View Master Movie from Sony Pictures, could be hilariously bad given Sony's track record
A Barney film from A24 (yes this is real)
A Monster High film from Universal Pictures, Directed by Gerard Johnstone
A Tony the Tattooed Man film from Director Tracie Laymon.
We have no Idea if Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023) or the Barbie Animated film from Illumination that was reported last summer are part of the 45 brands, as these ambitious plans from Mattel were announced in the lead up to the release of Barbie (2023)
But what we do know is this show's Mattel's commitment to their plan to turn a bunch of their IPs into Movies and shows, that they're actually for reals doing this. Mattel as a company still sucks shit, but I will say I am for now ironically excited to see how this all plays out.
