Danai Gurira Joins John Cena in Mattel's "Matchbox"

Danai Gurira has joined John Cena in "Matchbox", Apple Original Films’ live-action take on the classic Mattel car toy line.

The actress, who is known for playing Okoye on Marvel's "Black Panther" and Michonne on AMC’s "The Walking Dead", now joins a call sheet that also includes Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris, and Arturo Castro.

Sam Hargrave, the helmer behind the Extraction action movies, is directing the movie that is shooting this winter in several locales around the world, including Hungary and Slovakia.

Matchbox is the toy brand first created in 1953 and acquired by Mattel in 1997. The company originally competed with Matchbox in the die-cast car space with its own line, Hot Wheels.

Plot details have until now been kept under the hood, but the project is described as an action-packed, globetrotting adventure that centers on a group of childhood friends who must work together to stop an impending worldwide disaster and rediscover their friendship along the way.

The screenplay is by David Coggeshall, who wrote action comedy "The Family Plan" for Apple, and Jonathan Tropper, the author and scribe who wrote the Ryan Reynolds action-adventure feature "The Adam Project".

Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger will produce alongside Robbie Brenner for Mattel Films and Jules Daly.

Gurira most recently starred in the AMC limited series "The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live", reprising her role of Michonne.

The series reunited her with co-star Andrew Lincoln and continued the post-apocalyptic love story of Rick Grimes and Michonne with six episodes. She also served as an executive producer and writer.