Michael Fassbender will coach ‘The Worst Team in the World’ in this comedy inspired by the true story of a national team.
It has been in a drawer since 2020 because of the pandemic and the scandal of Armie Hammer, who was replaced by Will Arnett, but 2023 is the year in which, finally, we will be able to enjoy Taika Waititi’s new comedy: ‘The worst team in the world (Next Goal Wins)’.
The American Samoan team was the protagonist of a documentary in 2014 that recounted the process of change to stop being the worst team on the international football scenehiring a new coach to try to compete in an overcoming story in the style of the 1993 Disney classic ‘Chosen to Win’, in which a group of Jamaican athletes became ice bobsleigh stars.
Taika Waititi was so impressed by the story that he launched the adaptation five years ago, recruiting Michael Fassbender. in the role of the coach in charge of returning the honor to the national team. ‘The Worst Team in the World (Next Goal Wins)’ tells the story of the soccer team from American Samoa, which suffered the worst defeat in soccer history, losing to Australia 31-0 in 2001. With the 2014 World Cup approaching, the team enlists a maverick, down-on-his-luck coach (played by Michael Fassbender) to help change their destiny.
“Years ago, I saw it and couldn’t believe I’ve never heard of this story before. I had never done a sports movie before and I really wanted to try it. It’s a sport I don’t know“admitted Waititi, the director of the last two Thor movies in Marvel’s MCU. “Rugby is the national sport in New Zealand, but this is about the underdog, and I love underdog stories. Most of my films are about people who live on the fringes, or are a bit left out, and they just fit right for me. It’s a true story, but it has all the elements that all great sports movies have..”
The trailer makes it clear that ‘The Worst Team in the World’ leans towards comedy to tell”longest losing streak in history“, with the help of ABBA’s ‘Take a Chance on Me’.
In addition to directing, Waititi is also co-writing the ‘World’s Worst Team’ script with Iain Morris. Michael Fassbender will be accompanied by Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss (‘The Handmaid’s Tale’), Oscar Kightley, Rhys Darby (‘Our flag means death’), David Fane, Beulah Koale, Uli Latukefu, Angus Sampson, and Kaimanawho makes his acting debut.
Source: Fotogramas
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