‘Next Goal Wins’ trailer: Michael Fassbender returns for Taika Waititi’s new comedy [Watch]

Christopher Rosen
·2 min read
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Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi’s long-delayed “Next Goal Wins” will finally set foot on the pitch this fall.

On Wednesday, Searchlight Pictures released the first trailer for “Next Goal Wins,” which teases the film’s charming humor and inspirational true story. The film – which the “Jojo Rabbit” and “Thor: Love and Thunder” director also co-wrote – is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name and focuses on the American Samoa soccer team, a unit “infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team around.”

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“Years ago, I watched [the documentary] and couldn’t believe I’d never heard of this story before,” Waititi told Entertainment Weekly in an interview last year. “I’d never made a sports film before, and I really wanted to try that out. It’s about a sport I don’t know that much about.”

He added, “It’s a true story, but it’s got all the elements that all the great sports films have. It’s basically the ‘Cool Runnings’ of soccer.”

“Next Goal Wins” was initially announced in 2019 and the production wrapped in January 2020. But the coronavirus pandemic and a casting switch – Armie Hammer was replaced by Will Arnett after Hammer was accused of alleged sexual assault in 2021, which he has denied – delayed the film’s release. The film has had three 2023 dates alone: April 22, September 22, and now November 17.

When “Next Goal Wins” does arrive, it will be part of a fall comeback for Fassbender. The Oscar-nominated actor appeared in more than 20 projects between 2010 and 2019 but took a long break thereafter. “Next Goal Wins” and David Fincher’s “The Killer” – which Netflix is expected to release on November 10 – are the first lead roles for Fassbender in four years.

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