Next Goal Wins Release Date, Cast, Plot, Trailer And More Details

Taika Waititi has been a largely reliable filmmaker for years now. He wrote and directed numerous smaller features before bursting onto the franchise scene with excellent work in "Thor: Ragnarok." He followed that up with "Jojo Rabbit," which he wrote, directed, and starred in and ultimately won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. Regardless of what people's thoughts on "Thor: Love and Thunder" might've been, it's clear Waititi's talented, and he's getting back to his smaller film roots with the upcoming "Next Goal Wins."

The dramatized picture takes its subject matter and name from the 2014 documentary about a Dutch-American coach's efforts to lead the American Samoa football team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup ... despite being considered the weakest football team in the world. It's an underdog story perfect for Waititi's sensibilities and will hopefully prove to the Oscar winner's detractors that he still has what it takes to make a compelling film. Here's everything we know about "Next Goal Wins" so far.

Fans wanting to see Taika Waititi's latest won't have to wait too much longer. The film was initially set for a September 22, 2023 release date. However, Deadline reported in April 2023 that the film's release would be pushed back to November 17. It's only a couple more months, but it does give "Next Goal Wins" some serious competition at the box office. 

November 17 has a pretty stacked deck of releases. There's "The Hunger Games" prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," that comes out the same day. In addition to being based on a major property, it also has a popular cast featuring Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, and Viola Davis. November 17 is also when "Trolls Band Together" comes out for families. It's the next installment of the animated "Trolls" franchise that's bound to feature plenty of colorful characters and earworm tunes. For anyone tired of franchises, "Next Goal Wins" should provide great counter-programming with plenty of heart and humor.

Based on the 2014 documentary of the same name, "Next Goal Wins" revolves around the American Samoa football team — widely considered the worst team on the planet. In fact, they were best known for playing Australia back in 2001 ... and losing 31-0. If you know anything about soccer, then you know that's real bad.

So what's an infamously terrible team to do? Well, per the plot synopsis, "With the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen, hoping he will turn the world's worst soccer team around in this humorous and heartfelt underdog story."

Based on the trailer, it looks like Rongen more than has his work cut out for him, but he could also stand to learn a few life lessons from his unlikely new job. The result is a heartwarming story about defying the odds and reaching something that's unattainable. And if you just can't wait for the film to hit theaters, check out the documentary, which currently stands at an impressive 100% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Michael Fassbender, who's been nominated for two Oscars for his work on "12 Years a Slave" and "Steve Jobs," will lead the film as football coach Thomas Rongen. The documentary depicts Rongen as a bit unconventional, so it should be a treat to see Fassbender take on a role with a more comedic bent to it. 

He'll be joined by other noteworthy names, including Elisabeth Moss ("The Invisible Man"), Rhys Darby ("Our Flag Means Death"), and Will Arnett ("Arrested Development"). Arnett will portray an executive for the Football Federation American Samoa, and according to Deadline, that particular role was originally supposed to be played by Armie Hammer. The report says Hammer was replaced because he wasn't available for reshoots, but that was likely fortuitous given the controversy surrounding Hammer. Accusations surfaced of sexual violence that clouded the release of "Death on the Nile," so he won't be seen in this picture. 

Non-binary actor Kaimana will star as Jaiyah Saelua, the first transgender footballer who ever played in a men's World Cup qualifier. The cast is rounded out with Angus Sampson ("Insidious"), Chris Alosio ("Talk to Me"), Rachel House ("Thor: Ragnarok:), Uli Latukefu ("Young Rock"), Semu Filipo ("The Justice of Bunny King"), Lehi Falepapalangi ("Hawaii Five-0"), Beulah Koale ("Shadow in the Cloud"), David Fane ("Bro'Town"), and Oscar Kightley ("Sione's Wedding"). 

As mentioned previously, Taika Waititi will direct "Next Goal Wins." He also wrote the screenplay with Iain Morris.

Waititi is a seasoned director with numerous credits to his name. He got his start directing short films and was even nominated for an Oscar for best live-action short film for 2004's "Two Cars, One Night." He soon transitioned to feature-length movies, such as smaller-budget affairs with "Eagle vs. Shark," "Boy," and "Hunt for the Wilderpeople." His talents obviously caught the attention of Marvel Studios as he was hired to direct "Thor: Ragnarok," which many consider to be a high point for the franchise. 

In addition to winning an Oscar for writing the "Jojo Rabbit" screenplay, he's worked a ton in television, directing episodes of "What We Do in the Shadows," "The Mandalorian," and "Our Flag Means Death." and that's not even getting into his litany of acting roles. Waititi should be quite busy moving forward, as he's been attached to a "Star Wars" movie for a while now, and it's also rumored he's still planning on directing a live-action adaptation of "Akira." It remains to be seen if those projects will come to fruition, but it's obvious Waititi has the social capital to do pretty much whatever he wants at this point.

A trailer for "Next Goal Wins" came out on April 26, and it shows this is going to be a classic Taika Waititi joint through and through. The trailer opens with Thomas Rongen being told he's being fired, and his only recourse is to coach the Samoan football team. It's clear he's going to have his work cut out for him, as these players really have no idea what they're doing, so Rongen falls back on the classic cinematic vice of drinking far too much alcohol. 

But if there's one thing to be gleaned from the trailer, it's that this movie is a celebration of losers. Losing is merely one facet of life, as evidenced by the fact the trailer refers to Waititi as the loser for best picture for "Jojo Rabbit," as well as the loser for a Teen Choice Award for "Thor: Ragnarok." While those signifiers are clearly in jest, it does ignore Waititi having many awards to his name, including an Oscar for best adapted screenplay. Still, it appears the film will have ample humor and plenty of heart to make it a big winner later this year.