Jessica Biel Says She’s ‘Excited’ to Star in “Matchbox the Movie”, Her First Film in 9 Years (Exclusive)

Jessica Biel Says She’s ‘Excited’ to Star in “Matchbox the Movie”, Her First Film in 9 Years (Exclusive) https://ift.tt/skOXRhf

Jessica Biel spoke with PEOPLE at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 25 to promote the movie alongside John Cena, Arturo Castro, Sam Richardson and Teyonah Parris

Jessica Biel at Comic-Con
Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Jessica Biel returns to film after nine years, inspired by nostalgia and her love for action projects
• Matchbox the Movie is a live-action adaptation of the iconic toy brand featuring a star-studded cast including John Cena
• The film, directed by Sam Hargrave, begins streaming on Apple TV October 9

Jessica Biel is all revved up to be touting her first movie in nine years at San Diego Comic-Con!

Biel, 44, stepped out at the annual comic book and pop culture convention in California on Saturday, July 25 alongside her costars John Cena, Arturo Castro, Sam Richardson and Teyonah Parris, whom she shares the screen with in the upcoming action-adventure film Matchbox the Movie. The film is inspired by the widely popular vehicle toy brand from Mattel.

“Getting back into the film industry has been something that I’ve been really excited about doing,” Biel tells PEOPLE exclusively at the event. “It has to be right timing, it has to be the right thing.”

“I have little kids, you know, there’s a lot of elements that go into a decision, for me at least,” the actress — who shares sons Silas, 11, and Phineas, 5, with husband Justin Timberlake — adds. “I just was inspired by this cast, was inspired by these cars and the nostalgia. I wanted to do something in the action space again, and this just seemed like the right thing. I was really excited to be a part of it.”

John Cena and Jessica Biel
Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

For Biel, the movie is her first since she appeared in the 2017 film Shock and Awe. In the years between, the actress has appeared on the small screen in BoJack Horseman, Limetown, Candy and The Better Sister.

Sam Richardson, Arturo Castro, Jessica Biel, Teyonah Parris and John Cena
Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

An official synopsis for Matchbox the Movie describes the live-action adaptation of the toy franchise as “an action-packed, globetrotting adventure about a group of friends since childhood who have their lives upended when undercover CIA agent Sean (Cena, 49), their long-absent former leader, returns to their small town and unwittingly gets them embroiled in a frantic international pursuit to save the world.”

Asked about what nostalgia the film brought up for her, Biel shared, “It makes you think of being a kid again, right? I played with Matchbox as a kid, I played with GI Joes, I have a little brother. Barbie... we had Stretch Armstrong. It really makes you go back and think of your toy box and what was in there. We had a lot of Matchbox cars. And I mean I’m still buying Matchbox for my kids now! It never goes away, it never gets old.”

Matchbox the Movie
Credit: Jasin Boland/Apple TV

Sam Hargrave (Extraction) directed the movie, which was written by David Coggeshall (The Family Plan). Corey Stoll, Bill Camp, Danai Gurira and Golshifteh Farahani also star in the film.

Matchbox the Movie begins streaming Oct. 9 on Apple TV.