Some top-shelf directors take several years between films. Fortunately for fans of filmmaker Taika Waititi, that’s not the case. The New Zealand filmmaker is just coming off the world premiere of his latest film “Jojo Rabbit,” a so-called “anti-hate satire” about a boy who has Hitler for an imaginary friend, and he has two films in the works right now, both of which he seems to be juggling. Coming in the fall of November 2021, Waititi will direct Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in “Thor: Love And Thunder,” the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed and well-loved “Thor: Ragnarok.” But before that, the filmmaker who likes to switch it up between big studio movies and more modest-scaled indies will direct a soccer movie called “Next Goal Wins.”
And the dramedy has found one of its leads. THR reports that Michael Fassbender is in talks to join the film has the coach of the movie. “Next Goal Wins” is based on the 2014 British documentary of the same name directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison. The film chronicles the national football team of American Samoa—an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa—as they try to recover from the indignity of being known as one of the weakest football teams in the world, and to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
READ MORE: ‘Jojo Rabbit’: Taika Waititi’s “Not-All-Nazis” Satire Is Naively Idealistic [TIFF Review]
The team is somewhat inept, and the Football Federation American Samoa hire Dutch-born, America-based coach Thomas Rongen to help turn the ship around. Rongen in the documentary, is dogmatic and harsh, especially contrasted by the easy-going, not-all-that-competitive soccer team and there’s a vast ideological culture clash between them.
If Taika’s movie is anything like the doc, it’ll be a funny, heartwarming underdog story and frankly, that’s what Waititi does best when he’s not making movies for Marvel—see “Hunt For The Wilderpeople” and “Boy.”
Casting calls have gone out for Fa’afafine actors to play the team members, but that could mean it’s unlikely there will be any additional big-name stars in the movie (there’s nary any other white people in the original doc). Fox Searchlight, who is releasing “Jojo Rabbit” later this fall, has reteamed with Waititi on the film. While there’s no date yet, many are expecting a 2020 release date as the filmmaker is confirmed to be shooting this before he shoots Marvel’s ‘Love And Thunder.’