Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins Reveals New Trailer for Underdog Sports Film

Waititi's latest blockbuster debuts in theaters on November 17th.

By Jenna Anderson

From Star Wars to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Taika Waititi has put his stamp on a number of compelling stories. Later this year, the sports blockbuster Next Goal Wins will join that list — and we have a new look at what's in store. On Monday, Searchlight Pictures released a new trailer for Next Goal Wins, which is directed and co-written by Waititi. This comes just after Next Goal Wins' premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, and ahead of its debut in theaters this November.

What Is Next Goal Wins About?

In Next Goal Wins, Dutch-American football coach Thomas Rongen faces the option of being fired or accepting an almost impossible task: to convert the American Samoa national team, considered one of the weakest football teams in the world, into an elite squad.

The film's ensemble cast includes Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, and Elisabeth Moss.

Why Did Taika Waititi Direct Next Goal Wins?

In an interview last year, Waititi teased what drew him to telling the story of Next Goal Wins, revealing that he resonates with the film's cultural significance.

"It's the ultimate underdog story," Waititi told Empire Magazine at the time. "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."

Will Taika Waititi Direct Thor 5?

Following the release of Thor: Love and Thunder last year, there's been the lingering question of whether or not a fifth Thor film could be a possibility. As Waititi has put it, he's not entirely expecting to be creatively involved with a fifth film, if it were to be greenlit by Marvel Studios.

"I haven't thought about it as part of a new trilogy, because every time I make a film, I think, 'I'm never doing that again…' because they're just too hard," Waititi explained to Fandango last summer. "There's any film and I've done it eight times now. Eight times I've said, 'I think I'm just going to pack it in. I had a good run.' And then sure enough get lured back in with a Yankee dollar. Lured back in by them cookies… and them Oscars."

What do you think of the newest trailer for Next Goal Wins? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

 Next Goal Wins will be released exclusively in theaters on November 17th.

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