Matchbox: The Movie premieres with new world record as ICON John Cena walks red carpet

Throughout the decades, Matchbox lovers around the world have flipped, drove, skidded their cars through imaginative races – so as Apple Studios (USA) prepared to base their latest film Matchbox: The Movie on the classic toy, they wanted to incorporate a vehicle stunt that would elevate childhood memories into record-setting proportions.

The result? A death-defying action shot of a car spinning and smashing its way across the desert of Aarab Sebbah Gheris, Morocco last 27 March.

By blasting the right side of a speeding car with a pneumatic cannon, the film crew was able to spin a gold 2005 Mitsubishi Pajero a total of 14 times to claim the record for the most cannon rolls in a car in history.

Apple Studios overtook the previous record of 8.5 rolls from Universal Pictures, 87 North Productions, and Logan Holladay (all USA) on the set of The Fall Guy in 2022 – and they credited stunt driver Karl Van Moorsel and PR firm MAP360 Collective for all of their incredible assistance.

Together, the teams reunited on the black carpet premiere of the film on 6 October, celebrating their tremendous accomplishment along with GWR Adjudicator Andy Glass, the cast and crew, and GWR ICON John Cena, who plays the starring role in the film.

John and Karl graciously accepted the GWR certificate on behalf of the studio, with the ex-WWE star giving major kudos to the stunt team for pulling off this amazing technique. Repeatedly he stated that filming a stunt like this “takes a village”, and gave all credit to Karl and the crew for putting their lives on the line for the movie.

“It was very cool to make the presentation with a newly minted GWR ICON there,” said Adjudicator Andy, “And even better to see how generously John celebrated Karl and the crew!”

Read more stories about record-breaking films in our dedicated Arts and Entertainment section!

Surprisingly, the stunt itself was filmed in one take, and was completed without any cannon test-runs.

Karl and the stunt crew worked extensively with the production team to make sure that everything would be safe to film, yet still exciting to watch. 

The exterior of the car wasn’t modified in any way, but they fitted the interior with a roll cage, race seat, six-point harness, and fuel cell to maintain driver safety throughout the process.

Once the vehicle was prepared, and Karl was ready for his big performance (appropriately wearing a giant racing helmet), the filming site was filled with over 50 members of the crew, all eager to watch the action.

As soon as he got the go-ahead, the determined driver then sped the Mitsubishi down a flat runway – eventually hitting a speed of 72 mph (115 km/h) before initiating a slight right turn and firing the cannon. 

The car jerked abruptly into an aggressive series of 14 rolls, shedding metal and glass as it spun, before coming to a battered rest on the desert sand.

Now, if you’re interested in seeing how this record-breaking stunt fits into the film – you’re going to have to watch Matchbox: The Movie on Apple TV once it officially releases on 9 October.

Yet if this record is any indication… many more vehicle action shots are going to be rolling on to the screen, thanks to the hard work from this incredible team.

Congrats, Apple Studios – you are now Officially Amazing!