The Barbie movie was such a smash hit at both the box office and on the awards circuit that it’s unsurprising Mattel and other toy companies are in a hurry to try to recreate that success. (Barbie made a whopping billion dollars, after all.) Now there are a ton of upcoming movies based on toys in the works. Some of them were conceptualized pre-Barbie but have been stalled for years — so there’s no time like the present for the production companies hurry up and deliver.
It’s not a guarantee that any live-action movie version of a toy will do as well as Barbie did. It could be like how Disney tried to make a bunch of movies based on park rides, and they all kind of flopped compared to Pirates of the Caribbean. But considering that some pretty major stars are attached to some of these toy films, we definitely have our hopes up.
Read on to see the 17 toy-themed movies on their way to theaters.
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The Sims
Following the success of Barbie, Margot Robbie is set to tackle her second toy-related movie. According to Variety, she will produce a movie based on the massively popular video game The Sims. The news was just reported in March of 2024, so we don’t know too much yet — but after Barbie, we’d trust Margot with just about any project.
Polly Pocket
Emily in Paris star Lily Collins is set to lead the upcoming Polly Pocket movie, which she called a “dream come true” on Instagram. “I am partnering with the most inspiring powerhouse team … to reintroduce Polly to the world in a fun, modern way,” she captioned a photo of her younger self. “Can’t wait to dive into this pastel world.”
Ken
Ryan Gosling was a breakout favorite in Barbie, and he may have earned himself a Ken-focused sequel. Director and screenwriter Greta Gerwig said on 60 Minutes that she couldn’t totally rule out the idea of another film. “I mean, the truth is, you know — I guess we’ll see,” she said.
Greta added that writing for Ken was a ton of fun — and a lot didn’t make the final cut. “We had way too much material for Ken. We would write, and write, and write,” she said.
Sounds like there would be plenty of material for a sequel.
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American Girl
According to CBS News, Sierra Burgess is a Loser writer Lindsey Anderson Beer has been tapped to produce and write for the new American Girl doll film. Lindsey said she felt well-suited for the gig because she had grown up playing with the toys.
“My sister and I were American Girl girls. I had Kirsten, and she had Molly. They didn’t feel like dolls to play with, rather real people whose worlds we got to imagine ourselves in,” she shared.
Uno
What kind of movie can be made about a card game? According to The New Yorker, some of the original concepts for an Uno movie included a PG-13 film centered in the Atlanta hip-hop scene and a movie with a heist plot. Apparently Mattel is still working out the kinks of exactly how to present this film.
Bass Fishin'
It appears no Mattel property is off-limits for the film industry, and The New Yorker also reported that someone had submitted a pitch for a sports drama based on Bass Fishin’, a fishing rod video game toy. The news outlet reported that the proposed plot involved a “cheating scandal in competitive fishing.” The movie hasn’t been greenlit yet, but it honestly sounds kinda interesting.
Lego
The last Lego movie came out five years ago, so we’re about due for another one. According to Screenrant, the Lego property now resides with Universal. The next movie can draw on a wide array of Universal properties for cameos in the way that Batman played a role in the first Lego film. Some of the possible crossover franchises could be Jurassic World and Fast & Furious. Those would make for epic Lego movie characters.
Magic 8 Ball
Major Matt Mason
If another toy movie is going to get an Oscar nomination like Barbie did, it could be this one with Tom Hanks as the lead. According to Variety, Tom will play a live action version of Major Matt Mason — an action figure astronaut from the 1960s.
Monopoly
In 2023, Collider reported that Lionsgate acquired the Hasbro film operations for a whopping $500 million. That content library came with 6,500 titles, but Monopoly fans are hoping the long-stalled movie version of the board game will be one of the first titles Lionsgate will adapt.
Hot Wheels
Two years ago, Mattel posted a press release to announce that a Hot Wheels movie was in the works. It’s set to be produced by Bad Robot, the production company helmed by Star Wars director J.J. Abrams. The press release promised a “high-throttle action film,” and if anyone can execute on an action film, it’s J.J.
Matchbox Cars
Hot Wheels aren’t the only toy cars getting a film. Mattel also owns Matchbox Cars, which is set to have its own live-action movie release, per Variety. It’s not known yet how the two movies will differ, but if there can be 11 Fast & Furious movies, there can be two movies about toy cars.
View-Master
Remember this toy from when we were kids? We could put different circular slides into them and look at cool images. Well, View-Master is getting a movie too, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mattel’s film head Robbie Brenner told the news outlet, “Since the 1940s, View-Master has inspired wonder and joy in children of all ages, creating huge opportunities for storytelling.”
We’ll just have to wait to see what kinds of stories this toy tells on the big screen.
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots
Per Deadline, Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel is attached to produce and appear in a live-action movie based on the plastic boxing toy Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. The plot sounds intense, with the story following a son and his father as they “bond with an advanced war machine.”
Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe line of action figures have been brought to life on screen before. In the 1980s, there was a cartoon series based on the toys. But Mattel is now eyeing a live-action film. According to Deadline, Travis Knight is being looked at to direct it. He previously directed another toy movie — Bumblebee in the Transformers series.
Chatty Cathy & Betsy Wetsy
In the 1950s and ’60s, two of Mattel’s most popular dolls were Chatty Cathy — who could say random phrases — and Betsy Wetsy — who could drink water and go to the bathroom. Now the dolls will be brought to life by Jason Bateman’s production company, according to Variety.
Beyblade
A couple of years ago, Deadline reported that Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer was working with Paramount to make a Beyblade film. The spinning top toy owned by Hasbro was a childhood fave in the 2000s. There hasn’t been much news about the movie since 2022, but it’ll be interesting to see how the plot turns out.
