There’s an old saying that goes “Idle hands are the Devil’s playthings.” Or is it “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop?” Whatever the case, idle hands sucks (and yes, that applies to films of the same name). But I digress.
All this to say that Taika Waititi is obviously a filmmaker that agrees with the above sentiment (though I’m not sure about his thoughts on late-‘90s Jessica Alba). With several months before production on “Thor: Love & Thunder” is set to begin in early 2020, Waititi has decided to quickly bang out a new film. And now, we know that the film is called “Next Goal Wins.”
According to Deadline, “Next Goal Wins” is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name, from directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison. The film seemingly follows a pretty typical sports film story, as a hotshot coach (in this case, Dutch coach Thomas Rongen) takes control of a perennial loser (American Somoa) and has the gargantuan task of turning them into winners.
But this is Taika Waititi, so we know that “Next Goal Wins” is going to be anything but typical. I can only imagine what hijinks the filmmaker has up his sleeve. And judging by the limited time frame he has to film this feature, we’re going to guess that this isn’t some high-concept comedy like “Jojo Rabbit” and will be something more akin to his earlier, indie offerings. If that’s the case, I can’t get “Next Goal Wins” fast enough.
Obviously, we’re still two months away from “Jojo Rabbit” hitting theaters, so it would be silly to ask for a release date for “Next Goal Wins” already, but it’s clear that with the limited time Waititi has before getting wrapped up in his next superhero epic, the film will likely be in theaters fairly quicklike, in 2020.