Among the projects that dropped Armie Hammer, following accusations of sexual misconduct and rape was Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins. The sports dramedy is finally coming out this year and is among this fall’s 2023 new movie releases. The movie stars Michael Fassbender as a down-on-his-luck coach, who finds an unlikely job as the leader of the American Samoa national football team, and the trailer (above) is a delight.
Taika Waititi Is Crafting A Funny-Looking Sports Biopic
As Searchlight Pictures' trailer sets up, Dutch-American soccer coach Thomas Rongen (played by Michael Fassbender) begrudgingly takes a job coaching the American Samoa soccer team following its infamous and brutal 31-0 FIFA loss back in 2001. Set to the tune of ABBA’s “Take A Chance On Me,” the footage shows Rongen going to American Samoa to turn the team around all while he drinks his days away and showing doubts of his team’s capabilities. All the while, his players are humorously leery of him as well.
The movie initially wrapped back in early 2020 but, following the Armie Hammer controversy, the actor's role was recast, with Will Arnett taking over. Deadline reported in December 2021 that Arnett would step in for reported reshoots. This occurred months after Hammer went viral over a cannibal text scandal. Arnett plays an executive at the Football Federation American Samoa, who is shown in the trailer to be breaking some bad news to Michael Fassbender’s Rongen.
What's Going On With Armie Hammer's Situation?
Armie Hammer's situation led the actor to the actor checking himself into a treatment program, and he currently has a case being reviewed by Los Angeles District Attorney. One couldn't have foreseen such a situation impacting the production, and it has definitely taken longer than expected for this movie to see the light of day. Now that have our first look though, Taika Waititi's feel-good comedy seems like it might be worth the wait.
The Social Network alum's role was supposedly a cameo when the movie was initially filmed but, when Will Arnett, stepped in the role was expanded for him. The soccer movie is one of several productions the embattled actor was involved in before dropping out. For example, amidst the controversy, he was replaced by Josh Duhamel in Shotgun Wedding, which was released on Prime Video in January 2023. He also exited Paramount+’s The Offer, and that premiered back in April 2022.
That drama aside though, Taika Waititi seems to be on top of his game. He's certainly made a name for himself, between writing and directing the What We Do In The Shadows movie and helming the last two Thor movies. He also directed Jojo Rabbit, which won him the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2020. His latest film is based on the 2014 British documentary of the same name, and it received overwhelmingly positive praise when it was released. Let's hope Waititi's adaptation will be a winner, just like the doc and the team itself
Next Goal Wins makes its long-awaited theatrical debut on November 17.
