TIFF 2017 To Open With 'Borg/McEnroe' Starring Shia LaBeouf

Get ready, Canada. Barring any future legal problems, Shia LaBeouf is coming to the Toronto International Film Festival.

Organizers announced this morning that “Borg/McEnroe” will be the Opening Night film at this year’s festival. The selection is a bit surprising, given that in past years, TIFF has tended to go with starrier material to kick things off with titles such as “The Magnificent Seven” (2016), “Demolition” (2015), “The Judge” (2014), “The Fifth Estate” (2013), and “Looper” (2012). Perhaps it’s an indication that the cutthroat competition between Venice, Telluride and TIFF meant that programmers had limited options with what films would be finished in time, and willing to give their World Premiere slot to Opening Night. Even more intriguing, the film doesn’t even have a U.S. distributor yet.

READ MORE: ‘Borg/McEnroe’: Shia LaBeouf Serves Up A New Trailer

All that stuff aside, “Borg/McEnroe” does look like an engrossing picture regardless of its potential awards season bonafides. Here’s the official synopsis:

Borg/McEnroe tells the story of the epic rivalry between Swedish tennis legend Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and his greatest adversary, the brash American John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf), which came to a head during the 1980 Wimbledon Championships.

“Borg Vs. McEnroe” opens in the U.K. on September 22nd. There’s no U.S. release date yet. TIFF runs from September 7-17.