Mattel Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures and Bad Robot have locked down Wicked director Jon M. Chu to direct their live-action Hot Wheels feature film, which has been in development since 2019. 

The studios have also recruited Space Jam: A New Legacy writing duo Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier to pen the script. 

This “high-octane action film” will have a four-quadrant focus, although there’s a tight lid on any additional details—other than that it will showcase sleek vehicles. Hot Wheels is set to be Mattel’s biggest brand-to-movie adaptation since it smashed the box office with its first major theatrical film last summer. Barbie went on to top US$1.4 billion in global ticket revenue, as well as driving significant sales for the iconic doll brand. 

The Hot Wheels project has been in the works for more than six years now. It was first announced in 2019 as a Warner Bros. Pictures and Mattel co-production—both studios were working on the Barbie film when this deal was signed. J.J Abrams’ Bad Robot production company got involved in 2022.   

Robbie Brenner, Mattel Studios’ newly minted president and chief content officer, will represent Mattel on a team of producers that also includes Chu, Abrams and Michael Bostick from Chu’s Electric Somewhere production company. And creative executive Arturo Thur de Koós is overseeing the project for Mattel Studios.  

Significantly, Chu also has experience in making toy to movie adaptations. He directed both G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) and Jem and the Holograms (2015), both based on Hasbro brands. 

Wicked was a massive hit, and grossed more than US$700 million globally. He’s also working on the sequel Wicked for Good, which is due out in November.

Chu sees Hot Wheels as a brand that goes way beyond cars to spark “imagination, connection and the thrill of play,” he said in a release. The plan with the movie is to “create an adventure that honors Hot Wheels’ legacy, while driving it somewhere entirely new.”