Perhaps robots can be family, too.

Vin Diesel lands first feature-writing gig in decades with Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots

Perhaps robots can be family, too.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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December 4, 2025 8:38 p.m. ET

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots; Vin Diesel on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show'. Credit:

Mattel; Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty

As we continue to wait for the next *Fast & Furious* film, Vin Diesel is writing himself a new family.

Mattel Studios announced that the *xXx* star will serve as screenwriter for a *Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots* film. Diesel was previously announced as the star and producer of the project under his production company One Race Films.

The *Chronicles of Riddick* actor shared his enthusiasm for the project in a statement in a Mattel press release on Thursday.

"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," he said.

Mattel previously made a Hollywood splash with Greta Gerwig's billion-dollar hit *Barbie* in 2023. The toy company's film division will see cinematic adaptations of *Masters of the Universe* and *Matchbox* racecars hit theaters in 2026.

Vin Diesel in Beverly Hills on March 2.

Lionel Hahn/Getty

Diesel began his career writing and directing his own projects, including his 1995 short *Multi-Facial*, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and his 1997 feature debut *Strays*, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Diesel also wrote and directed the 2009 short *Los Bandoleros*, a *Fast & Furious *short that was released on the Blu-ray for the series' fourth installment, *Fast & Furious*.

The *Pacifier* star also said that he originated the concept for his 2015 fantasy film *The Last Witch Hunter*, taking inspiration from his *Dungeons & Dragons* campaigns. He did not receive story or screenwriting credit on the film, however.

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Mattel Studios president Robbie Brenner hyped up Diesel's creative instincts in a statement.

"Vin is a powerhouse storyteller with an unmatched understanding of action, heart, and world-building," he said. "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.”

For the uninitiated, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots are plastic toy robots that fight each other in a boxing ring. The toys first hit shelves in 1964 and have never received a dedicated screen treatment, though they do make a brief appearance in *Toy Story 2*.

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Diesel has not appeared in a film since 2023's *Fast X*. He regularly posts on Instagram about the next installments in the *Fast* and *Riddick *franchises — which currently seem to be titled *Fast Forever* and *Riddick: Furya*, respectively — though the actual development status of each project remains unclear. He is also set to star in a sequel to *The Last Witch Hunter*, which a recent Instagram post by the actor indicates will bear the title *Kaulder the Immortal — The Lion's Oath*.

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