If you haven’t taken the journey and watched all of Taika Waititi’s films, then let me tell you, you’re making every mistake there is in this world. I’m just kidding (no I’m not), but still, Waititi has a way of bringing us so many amazing films that whenever a new project of his is announced, there’s a sort of giddy excitement that overtakes me. Now, before he moves on to Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi will bring us Next Goal Wins.
The film is meant to be the telling of a real-life soccer coach who began coaching the American Samoa soccer team. Based on the 2014 documentary of the same name, Next Goal Wins is set to be Waititi’s “secret” film, as reported by Variety. “That doc follows Dutch coach Thomas Rongen who attempts the nearly impossible task of turning the American Samoa soccer team from perennial losers into winners,” Deadline reported.
To me, this is the kind of movie that I really love from Waititi. An inspiring tale that is going to have a fun twist on it? Definitely feels like the same kind of tone a movie like Hunt for the Wilderpeople had, but then again, it’s Taika Waititi. He could literally tell this story as the most serious kind of drama, and it would still probably be a brilliant movie.
His way of telling stories is both engaging and beautiful to watch, and so Next Goal Wins sounds like the perfect project between Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Love and Thunder. (Don’t forget, Jojo Rabbit is the movie in which Waititi plays Adolf Hitler as the imaginary friend of a small boy. So, delightful.)
According to the report, Waititi has already finished the screenplay for Thor: Love and Thunder, which is set to begin filming at the beginning of 2020, so in the meantime, why not tell the story of Thomas Rongen and the American Samoa team? We don’t know yet how the movie is going to bring their story to life, but as the kids say: In Taika We Trust.
Garrett Basch is set to produce, and that is about all we know as of right now. All I hope is that it has the same kind of heart that can, seemingly, be found in any Waititi production. Even What We Do in the Shadows manages to bring us joy and tug at our hearts a little, and that’s a mockumentary about vampires!
He’s an extremely talented filmmaker and there’s no doubt in my mind that Next Goal Wins will be a beautiful addition to what I’m going to affectionately call the Taika Waititi Cinematic Universe. Can’t wait to see what he thinks up next!
(via Deadline, image: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
