Justin Lin, the director whose portfolio includes the "Fast & Furious" franchise and "Star Trek Beyond," sealed a deal through Perfect Storm Entertainment to develop, direct and produce a movie which would center on Mattel's top-selling toy car, Hot Wheels.
"Hot Wheels" Film Expected Release Date
Rumors that Hot Wheels would make its movie debut have been around since 2003 and the rights have been passed around from Columbia to Warners and now, Legendary Pictures acquired the rights for the feature film. Despite being a pet project for director Simon Crane, there had been no news of film production for Hot Wheels since 2014.
With Lin on board, there's renewed hope that the movie would be completed. Unfortunately, with Perfect Storm's current lineup of projects including "Space Jam 2" and four TV shows, the film may not come out anytime soon.
Lin and Perfect Storm have the option for co-financing the project which indicates that if the director feels that a toy car movie would be a hit, production would commence soon. At the moment, however, insiders revealed that the movie is at early stages of development and hiring a writer who can produce a good manuscript for Mattel's bestselling toy, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Mattel's Hottest Toy Brand
Among all its toy brands, Hot Wheels is Mattel's biggest hit. Based on statistics, every 10 seconds one of these cars is being sold. Since its release in 1968, the toy car brand has become such a popular toy that some kids refer to all toy cars as Hot Wheels.
This wouldn't be the first time for Mattel to collaborate for a movie production. "Max Steel" which is scheduled for release on Oct. 4 is based on their action figures. There are also "Barbie" and "Masters of the Universe" and other films under Sony.
