[Update: A source close to this project tell us that it’s actually a narrative adaptation of the 2015 documentaryNext GoalWins, which told the story of the American Samoa soccer team—known as one of the weakest teams in soccer—and their journey towards qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. So yeah, Taika’s making an underdog sports movie next! Our original story follows below.]
It appears thatTaika Waititi’s next movie won’t beThor 4after all. No, the Marvel sequel isn’t being delayed. Instead, theThor: Ragnarokfilmmaker will be squeezing in a different project altogether later this year, before he heads back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the next two years.
PerVariety, Waititi was approached about writing and directing this project byAndy SerkisandJonathan Cavendishof Imaginarium Productions, and once he agreed to take the helm withGarrett Baschproducing, Fox Searchlight jumped at the opportunity to distribute. The film has already been greenlit to start filming this fall, before Waititi has to go and prepThor: Love and Thunderto start shooting inMarch 2020 in Australia.
Waititi burst onto the scene with his joyful filmsWhat We Do in the Shadows,Boy, andHunt for the Wilderpeoplebefore essentially rebooting the Thor character inThor: Ragnarok. But instead of jumping to the next franchise after the wild success ofRagnarok, Waititi moved directly into making his World War II satireJojo Rabbit, which hits theaters later this year and is being given an awards push by Fox Searchlight. Indeed, Waititi’s relationship with Searchlight onJojo Rabbitno doubt led to the two teaming up once again on this secret project, which speaks volumes about the quality ofRabbit. Additionally, Disney owns Fox Searchlight, so it was likely easier to get the go-ahead from Marvel/Disney to squeeze this film in beforeThor 4.
Thor: Love and Thundercame about pretty rapidly over the summer, and Waititi’s decision to write and direct the sequel led to him pumping the brakes onAkiraover at Warner Bros. He was initially intended to next direct that long-in-the-works adaptation, but its status is unclear now thatThor 4and this new secret project have jumped ahead priority-wise. TheThorsequel will seeChris Hemsworth,Tessa Thompson, andNatalie Portmanall reprising their roles.
So stay tuned, folks. It looks like we could have three new Taika Waititi movies released three years in a row.
