Taika Waititi’s “Mystery” Project Is An Underdog Sports Film

Some secrets are forever. Others last barely a day. In the case of Taika Waititi’s “mystery” film that he’s shooting ahead of Thor: Love & Thunder, we now know the title is Next Goal Wins, and the inspirational true story it will tell.

Deadline reports Next Goal Wins is a sports underdog story, a very familiar-sounding one except the team in question is a football team from American Samoa that is turned from a loser into a World Cup qualifier by hotshot coach Thomas Rongen. The film is based on the award-winning 2014 documentary by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison.

This being Waititi, we probably shouldn’t expect this to be common by any means. But there’s also not a ton of time. The director’s next film, Jojo Rabbit, opens in a couple of months with Thor beginning early next year. Look for Waititi to put the pedal to the metal on this one.