The Vin Diesel ‘Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots’ Movie Has a New Writer: Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel has been attached to star in and produce a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie for years, and now, he’s hired a new writer: himself. Almost five years after news of the classic toy adaptation was first revealed, the star of Riddick and the Fast & Furious franchise has now also been announced as its latest screenwriter.

“I am excited to expand the Mattel universe by bringing this classic toy from my childhood to a modern audience by telling a story that examines the role of competition in a world often measured by strength and dominance that dares to reveal the power of compassion at its core,†Diesel said in a statement to Deadline, which broke the news. Mattel then confirmed it on its website.

“Vin is a powerhouse storyteller with an unmatched understanding of action, heart, and world-building,†Robbie Brenner, president of Mattel Studios and producer on the film, added. “His creative vision for Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots is bold, human, and deeply cinematic—exactly the kind of storytelling we love at Mattel Studios.â€

“Bold, human, and deeply cinematic.†Let’s sit with that for a second. We don’t doubt that a movie about robots fighting can be those things. After all, Real Steel, starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy, already exists. But to use those words to describe a film based on two toys that fight each other and nothing else seems pretty aspirational. Is the story of Red Rocker and Blue Bomber really capable of that? And from a script by Diesel himself, no less?

Anything is possible, of course. Who would have thought Barbie, another Mattel film, could have been as great and successful as it was? But this somehow feels different, mostly because this film was announced in 2021 with another writer, and now, all this time later, that script has apparently been thrown out. That writer was Ryan Engle, who wrote Non-Stop and Rampage, and his story was about “a father and son who form an unlikely bond with an advanced war machine.†Which sounds… exactly like Real Steel.

We don’t know what Diesel’s story will be, or when he might get around to making the film. He’s got a lot on his plate. But we will anxiously be awaiting to see whether it delivers a “bold, human, and deeply cinematic†experience.

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