Star Trek Beyond helmer Justin Lin is returning to the realm of petrolheads and piping hot automobiles for Hot Wheels, the long-in-development feature film based on Mattel’s lucrative toyline.
The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop, confirming that Lin, no stranger to the genre after a long career on Universal’s Fast and Furious franchise, has struck a deal to direct, develop and produce the adaptation via his Perfect Storm Entertainment banner, lending the project its first tangible lease of life since 2014. Then, it was director Simon Crane who came attached to Hot Wheels at Legendary, after the studio had snapped up rights from Columbia some years before.
That all changes today. With Lin at the helm and his producing partner Troy Craig Poon by his side, the search is on for a writer to steer Hot Wheels onto the starting grid as Legendary eyes a sizeable blockbuster. Falling into a similar bracket of who-would-have-thunk-it movie adaptations – your My Little Ponys, your Emoji movies etc. – it’s worth noting that a feature spin on Mattel’s time-honored toyline won’t be fast-tracked as Justin Lin’s next directorial effort, considering the Taiwanese filmmaker is due to take point on Space Jam 2 at Warner Bros.
Regardless, Hot Wheels is by no means the only Mattel property eyeing a path to the big screen. There’s also a Barbie feature film simmering on the fringes not to mention the small matter of Masters of the Universe, the latter of which continues to displaying fleeting signs of life from time to time and will, according to McG, “respect the fan base.”
