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Mattel and Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that acclaimed director Jon M. Chu will direct the live-action Hot Wheels feature film based on Mattel’s legendary and timeless toy car. Writing partners Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier will pen the script.

Inspired by the best-selling toy, the high-octane action film will bring the beloved, multi-generational Hot Wheels franchise to life, showcasing some of the world’s most iconic and sleek vehicles. J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot Productions and Chu’s Electric Somewhere will produce the film.

Wicked photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Robbie Brenner, President of Mattel Studios and Chief Content Officer, said: “Jon’s ability to craft rich, elaborate worlds with a distinct point of view makes him the ideal storyteller to bring Hot Wheels to life. His films are visual spectacles—true eye candy—but what sets them apart is how he weaves unforgettable narratives within those stunning frames.

Wicked franchise director Jon M. Chu has signed on to helm Hot Wheels for Mattel and Warner Bros based on the popular toy car line.

Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier will co-write the screenplay after collaborating on They Cloned Tyrone (Taylor’s credits include Creed II), while J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Chu’s Electric Somewhere are producing.

Mattel Studios president and chief content officer Robbie Brenner is producing alongside Chu, Abrams, and Michael Bostick. Arturo Thur de Koós is overseeing for Mattel Studios, with Sheila Walcott and Zach Hamby leading for Warner Bros. Pictures, Jon Cohen for Bad Robot,...

Mattel has had its finger on the trigger for a Hot Wheels movie for a couple of years now, especially after the massive success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Warner Bros. is teaming up with J.J. Abrams‘ Bad Robot to produce the film and it was previously reported that writers Dalton Leeb and Nicholas Jacobson-Larson were going to pen the film. It was being described as a “high-throttle actioner” that will “showcase some of the world’s hottest and sleekest cars, monster trucks, and motorcycles.”

Now, Deadline reports that Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier, whose credits include Creed II and They Cloned Tyrone, are called upon to adapt the toys to the screen, and Wicked director Jon M. Chu is now signed on to direct the film. Chu’s company, Electric Somewhere, will also be producing in association with Bad Robot. Robbie Brenner...

Jon M. Chu is putting the pedal to the metal.

The director of “Crazy Rich Asians” and both “Wicked” films will be helming a live-action “Hot Wheels” movie from Mattel, Warner Bros. and Bad Robot. Writing partners Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier will pen the script for the movie, which is based on the toy line. Chu’s Electric Somewhere is also producing.

“Jon’s ability to craft rich, elaborate worlds with a distinct point of view makes him the ideal storyteller to bring Hot Wheels to life,” Robbie Brenner, chief content officer for Mattel, said in a Monday statement. “His films are visual spectacles — true eye candy — but what sets them apart is how he weaves unforgettable narratives within those stunning frames. Paired with Juel and Tony’s compelling storytelling, this team is uniquely positioned to capture the heart, adrenaline and spirit of Hot Wheels, a leading brand in car culture.

Exclusive: After seeing Wicked soar to 10 Oscar nominations and a worldwide gross exceeding $756 million, and with the back half of the two-part musical coming up for release in November, Jon M. Chu has inked a deal to direct a live-action Hot Wheels movie for Mattel and Warner Bros Pictures.

Juel Taylor & Tony Rettenmaier, a writer-director duo whose credits include Creed II and They Cloned Tyrone, have been tapped to pen the script, with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Chu’s Electric Somewhere producing. Robbie Brenner will produce for Mattel Studios alongside Chu, Abrams and Michael Bostick, with Arturo Thur de Koós overseeing for Mattel Studios. Sheila Walcott and Zach Hamby are overseeing for Warner Bros, along with Jon Cohen for Bad Robot and Jane Lee for Electric Somewhere.

Related: Amazon MGM Studios In Talks To Acquire Hot Video Game Package ‘Split Fiction’ Teaming Jon M. Chu & Sydney Sweeney

Hot Wheels...

Music Box Films debuts Venice prize winner Familiar Touch, a fresh take on the process of aging, at Film Forum in NYC ahead of limited national expansion. Written and directed by Sarah Friedland in her feature debut, it stars Tony-winning stage actress Kathleen Chalfant as Ruth, an older woman with dementia who enters an assisted living facility where she must contend with new faces, routines and surroundings as her own identities and desires shift.

Ruth resists identifying with her aging neighbors but connects with care workers there (Carolyn Michelle and Andy McQueen) and is drawn towards her son (H. Jon Benjamin), whom she mistakes for a suitor. A former cook, Ruth finds agency preparing meals in the facility kitchen. She slides into younger selves as she embraces the sensory experiences of the community’s activities and daily life. But when the reality of her situation sinks in, Ruth feels betrayed...

"That bro must be the villain." Well Go USA has revealed an official US trailer for Hi-Five, a Korean action comedy about people who get superpowers after receiving organ transplants. It just opened in Korea last week, and will also arrive in US theaters in a few more weeks. After receiving mysterious organ transplants, five strangers awaken with five extraordinary abilities. Banding together, they become an unlikely superhero team that will be known as the "Hi-Five." These five suddenly develop various superpower abilities after receiving transplants from a man with psychic superpower. They must defend themselves from a different group of people who seek to steal their powers. The cast features Lee Jae-in, who gets a heart transplant and becomes very strong; Ahn Jae-hong, who receives a lung transplant and is able to hold his breath for a long time; Kim Hee-won, who receives a liver transplant and becomes a healer; Yoo Ah-in,...

Wan-seo (Lee Jae-in), Ji-seong (Ahn Jae-hong), Sun-nyeo (Ra Mi-ran), Yak-sun (Kim Hee-won), and Ki-dong (Yoo Ah-in) come from different backgrounds, but they have one thing in common. They are all organ transplantees. Along with their improved health, they also received unexpected supernatural powers. These five people become aware of each other’s existence and they form a team. With their different personalities, they often quarrel and accidents never cease to happen. Meanwhile, Young-chun (Jin Young), who is the leader of a fake religion, received a pancreas transplant and also gained a supernatural power. He goes out looking for the rest of the transplantees to achieve his dream of becoming the absolute being. [Source: AsianWiki]

This action fantasy movie is written and directed by Kang Hyung-chul, who is known for the 2011 80s-set youth drama Sunny and 2014’s crime action sequel Tazza: The Hidden Card. Theatrical release in South Korea is scheduled for June...

Exclusive: South Korean superhero film Hi-Five has secured sales in the US and key territories across Asia ahead of its anticipated local release on May 30.

Seoul-based sales agent Contents Panda has closed deals for North America (Well Go USA), Japan (Klockworx), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Hong Kong (Edko Films), Vietnam (Mockingbird Pictures), Indonesia (Pt Prima Cinema Multimedia), Southeast Asia (Purple Plan), Mongolia (The Filmbridge) and in-flight (Emphasis Video Entertainment).

Directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, the story follows five ordinary people who develop superpowers after receiving organ transplants and for a team called Hi-Five. But a cult leader who received a pancreas transplant...

Exclusive: Lea Salonga is set to star in The Vale – Origins, a hybrid live-action and animated short film that will precede the forthcoming middle grade novel of the same name by Abigail Hing Wen.

Wen’s novel will release Sept. 16, 2025 through Aapi publishing house Third State Books, founded by Stephanie Lim and Charles Kim. The short film is in post production and slated for completion this summer. Wen wrote and directed the short film, which also has an animation team of John Aoshima attached as director and Neil Blevins Incredibles I, II, Wall-e, Up) as animation designer.

The short film follows the Lees, a grieving inventor family in Silicon Valley who find healing and connection through their young son’s creativity in The Vale, a virtual reality fantasy world they made. The family-friendly short film shifts between the real, live action world and the animated world,...