If you have a franchise that needs a boost, give Justin Lin a ring. He’s responsible for giving fresh life to the “Fast & Furious,” directing four installments including the breakout “Fast Five,” and the follow-up “Furious 6” as well. This summer, he got the “Star Trek” series back on track with “Star Trek Beyond,” which removed the grim sheen of “Star Trek Into Darkness” and pumped a whole lot more fun back into the property. And now, his talent for popcorn ready entertainment is going to be applied to another big brand.
READ MORE: ‘Star Trek’ Never Goes Beyond Its Familiar Orbit, But Entertains Nonetheless [Review]
THR reports that Lin will produce, develop, and direct “Hot Wheels,” taking over for the previously attached McG and Simon Crane (phew). Yes, the movie based on the Mattel toy. It’s all very early days, and the search for a screenwriter is on, and while we may bemoan Hollywood’s continued practice of turning products from Toys ‘R’ Us into movies, this is a pretty solid one. Lin has already shown he can make cars do impossible things with those “Fast & Furious” movies, and I can’t imagine it will be too complicated to come up with a screenplay featuring a protagonist who needs to acquire some, ahem, hot wheels, and then proceeds to jump off ramps and stuff. It’s kind of a no-brainer.
That being said, “Need For Speed” seemed like an obvious slam dunk too, but that fizzled pretty fast. But as it goes these days, the potential of a big reward is worth a risk.