Taika Waititi discusses new film ‘Next Goal Wins’
Taika Waititi has established himself as one of the biggest names in cinema, especially after his work within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following his recent Marvel production Thor: Love and Thunder, Waititi has decided to tackle a different kind of project.
Titled Next Goal Wins and based on the eponymous 2014 documentary, Waititi’s upcoming project will focus on Thomas Rongen’s heroic contributions to the American Samoa national team’s 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign. Michael Fassbender is set to star as Rongen, and the film will hit theatres in April of 2023.
While talking to Empire, Waititi said: “It’s the ultimate underdog story. It taking place in Polynesia is very important to me, because it’s my people. We stick together. It was like seeing myself up there, seeing my family up there, when I saw that documentary, which is so perfect in many ways. And to have a broader audiences have access to that story was one of my main goals.”
The director added: “To bring our backyard to people, and to put brown faces on screen was a big deal for me. I just loved it… It was a great antidote to doing Thor and Jojo Rabbit. Not that there’s anything negative about doing those other films, but I just missed home so much.”
Waititi also warned audiences about managing their expectations: “If you love films that are really authentic to the true stories, then you’re gonna hate this movie. I mean, just watch the documentary if you want to see exactly what happened. We go a bit deeper with these characters. The way that everything unfolded is the same.”
Check out the first image from the film below.
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