Vin Diesel once said that “I know as sure as I’m breathing, I’ll be the biggest movie star in the world.” So it’s no wonder that he got into a “candy ass” feud with his Fast and Furious co-star Dwayne Johnson, who might actually be the biggest (literally and figuratively) movie star in the world. It couldn’t have sat right with Diesel that once The Rock joined the Fast family in Fast Five, the franchise, which he originated, exploded into one of the Hollywood’s most successful — not to mention Johnson getting his own spinoff movie. The pair reportedly made up but who knows: F9 replaces the wrestler-turned-actor with another wrestler-turned-actor, while Diesel will let out any aggression he still feels towards The Rock in the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots movie.
Variety reports that Mattel’s film division “has announced plans to develop Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em, the tabletop game featuring battling robots, as a live-action movie starring Vin Diesel… The story follows a father (Diesel) and son who form an unlikely bond with an advanced war machine. The role of Diesel’s character’s son has not been cast yet.”
Mattel has several film adaptations in the works, some more curious than others. The growing list of properties in development include Wishbone, based on the ’90s TV show about the well-read Jack Russell terrier; Barbie starring Margot Robbie and written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach; and Uno, a heist comedy centered on the card game led by rapper Lil Yachty. The company is also making a live-action “Barney” movie with Daniel Kaluuya, a character the Oscar-nominated actor has labeled “misunderstood.”
The Dark Universe never materialized, but I have a good feeling about the Mattel Universe. A punching robot, Barney, Barbie, and Margot Robbie’s Barbie will join forces to rob a bank, with heist expert Lil Yachty as the inside man. Sounds like a box office hit to me. But first, Diesel needs to focus on the still-untitled Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em movie (that’s fun to say), written by Ryan Engle. You know what else he wrote? Rampage, starring… you guessed it… Dwayne Johnson. He and Diesel can’t quit each other.
(Via Variety)