New Fast and Furious Rival Already Has 1 Major AdvantageCustom Image by Simone Ashmoore

SUMMARY

Matchbox movie gains edge over Fast & Furious with director Sam Hargrave’s action pedigree.
Fast & Furious 11 faces delay, but Vin Diesel promises an intense finale for the $7 billion franchise.
Hargrave’s Extraction films showcase potential for Matchbox movie to exceed expectations in action genre.

A new Fast & Furious rival already has one major advantage over the $7.4 billion franchise. Since the original The Fast and the Furious film was released in 2001, it has gradually become one of the most profitable movie franchises of all time. Leading man Vin Diesel is still committed to making the upcoming Fast 11 one of the best installments of the lucrative franchise despite the poor box office performance of Fast X (2023).

Fast 11 has been unparalleled in terms of action car franchises, with films such as 2014’s Need for Speed and 2017’s Overdrive unable to capitalize on establishing a modern series that could rival Fast & Furious. The franchise soared to unprecedented heights with 2015’s Furious 7 and 2017’s The Fate of the Furious, which grossed roughly $1.52 billion and $1.24 billion worldwide, respectively. Fast X became the sixth consecutive film of the franchise to earn a worldwide gross higher than $700 million, which became less of an accomplishment due to its outrageous $340 million budget.

Sam Hargrave Directing The Matchbox Movie Is Better Than Most Fast & Furious Options

Hargrave has proven himself a skilled and exceptional action director

Dom in Fast X Dominic Toretto and his crew around a planning table in Fast & Furious 6
Elle crying and reminiscing in F9 Fast Five Hobbs Introduction 5 Brian (Paul Walker) from Furious 7 Looking in His Car at Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel)Dom in Fast X
Dominic Toretto and his crew around a planning table in Fast & Furious 6 Elle crying and reminiscing in F9 Fast Five Hobbs Introduction 5 Brian (Paul Walker) from Furious 7 Looking in His Car at Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel)

The upcoming Matchbox movie based on the popular toy car brand has found its franchise-inspiring director in Sam Hargrave. Hargrave has proven himself as a skilled and exceptional action director with his two Extraction movies starring Chris Hemsworth. This certainly adds some anticipation to the project that currently has its plot and cast details under wraps. Mattel is certainly keeping within its wheelhouse of finding experienced and highly capable directors after Greta Gerwig’s success with Barbie.

Matchbox is one of many upcoming Mattel movies that has been announced after the enormous box office success of 2023’s Barbie, the first project from Mattel Filmes. While the Fast & Furious franchise has had some big-name directors at the helm of some of its films, such as James Wan (The Conjuring) and David Leitch (Atomic Blonde),

few of them have the same action pedigree as Hargrave. This could give Matchbox a huge advantage right out of the gate.

Extraction’s Action Sequences Prove How Awesome Hargrave’s Matchbox Movie Can Be

The Extraction films push the boundaries of modern action movies

Tyler Rake charging in front of Ovi with his gun drawn in Extraction

The Extraction films push the boundaries of modern action movies, particularly because of their extended oners and action sequences involving cars. Based on his track record, Hargrave seems like the perfect fit to launch the Matchbox franchise, and it could actually be quite good. Given all that Hargrave achieved with his Extraction films, which earned Rotten Tomatoes scores of 67% and 79%, respectively, imagining what he can do with a full movie based on cars and action is an exciting prospect. Even if the Fast & Furious franchise does conclude with Fast 11, Matchbox could be the perfect replacement.