A Rock’em Sock’em Robots Movie To Be Developed By Vin Diesel

A live-action movie for Rock’em Sock’em Robots is in the works and will be produced by Vin Diesel, who will also star in it. The actor is known for his long-running career in the Fast and Furious franchise and has returned for almost all the movies in the series to play Dominic Toretto.

But now, he is set to star in the live-action adaptation of the iconic game. The film will be developed by Diesel’s multimedia company One Race Films in association with Mattel Films and Universal Pictures.

According to Deadline, Diesel’s new movie will follow “a father and son who form an unlikely bond with an advanced war machine.” The screenplay will be written by Ryan Eagle, who was behind Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage and Liam Neeson’s The Commuter.

Diesel’s sister Samantha Vincent will also serve as the movie’s co-producer. In a statement for the upcoming film, the actor said: 

“To take the classic Rock ’em Sock ’em game, with Mattel as my partner, and align it with the kind of world-building, franchise-making success we have had with Universal is truly exciting.”

Vin Diesel

Mattel Films is also currently in the process of developing a variety of other projects based on the company’s original toys such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Barney, American Girl dolls, UNO, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Magic 8 Ball.

Released initially in 1964 by Louis Marx and Company, Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots is a tabletop game. Designed by Marvin Glass and Associates, the game is meant for two people.

It includes two robots, one blue and one red (known as Blue Bomber and Red Rocker), with the game’s objective being to sock each other’s robots until one has its head knocked off. The game was redesigned in the 2000s by Mattel.

Other than the Fast Saga, though, Diesel has not had much success with franchise filmmaking as The Chronicles of Riddick and Babylon A.D. were both flops. But considering the already established prominence of the game, Diesel is likely looking to capitalize on its fame to set up another franchise.

However, with a premise eerily similar to 2011’s Real Steel, whether Diesel’s new venture becomes a success or not remains to be seen.

Source: Deadline