Taika Waititi’s upcoming soccer drama with Disney, “Next Goal Wins,” has pushed back its release date to Sept. 22, 2023, the studio announced Wednesday.
The new film from the Oscar-winning screenwriter was originally set for April 21, 2023.
Searchlight’s “Next Goal Wins” is an adaptation of the 2014 documentary of the same name, which chronicles the weak national football team of American Samoa as they qualify for one of the first rounds of the 2014 FIFA World Cup against all odds with the help of Dutch-born coach Thomas Rongen.
Waititi serves as director, and writes alongside Iain Morris. The project hails from Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium Productions, which optioned the documentary by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison in 2015. Producers include Waititi, Serkis, Jonathan Cavendish, Garrett Basch, Brett and Jamison. Michael Fassbender stars as Rongen along with Elisabeth Moss, Will Arnett and Rhys Darby.
In the new opening weekend, the film will debut alongside “Expendables 4” and an as-yet untitled DC movie from Warner Bros.
