Taika Waititi's next movie is the 'ultimate underdog story'

Taika Waititi has described his next movie as "the ultimate underdog story".

Next Goal Wins tells the story of the America Samoa national football team and their efforts to try and qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time, in this case the 2014 edition of the tournament.

What are the top 10 most popular shows on Amazon Prime right now?

Tuesday 10 February 2026, 14:38

What are the top 10 most popular shows on Netflix right now?

Monday 9 February 2026, 15:27

It is based on the documentary of the same name, directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, which received universal praise from audiences and critics.

The movie will star Michael Fassbender as Thomas Rongen, the coach of the hopeful nation.

“It’s the ultimate underdog story," Waititi told Empire.

"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.

“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.”

Next Goal Wins to be different from the documentary

Even though Next Goal Wins is based on a real-life story, and the documentary that told that story, Waititi says his version will take some creative license.

“If you love films that are really authentic to the true stories, then you’re gonna hate this movie," he explained.

"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.”