Remember when Taika Waititi filmed “Next Goal Wins” way back in 2020 before beginning work on “Thor: Love and Thunder?” You might have forgotten considering the film has seemingly been sitting on the shelf for quite a while for one reason or another. Well, over the holidays, it appears we got some movement on the film, as Will Arnett joined the cast. Wait, why did Taika Waititi add someone to the cast after principal photography has long since been completed? Well, there’s another piece to this puzzle and his name is Armie Hammer.
According to Deadline, it appears that Will Arnett is replacing Armie Hammer in the upcoming comedy film, “Next Goal Wins,” from director Taika Waititi. The film is said to tell the story of the hapless American Samoa soccer team who hire a new coach to spice things up and prepare for worldwide sports glory. Armie Hammer was set to play an executive with Football Federation American Samoa, but it appears his role was initially just a cameo and so his scenes will be replaced with new stuff from Arnett, who is getting a slightly bigger role in the finished film.
So why replace Hammer? Well, you probably remember last year’s shocking allegations that were made public where the actor was accused of sexual misconduct and…cannibalism. Yes, there were text messages released that seemingly pointed to Hammer having a cannibalism fantasy. Needless to say, the actor is no longer someone who is going to be featured in high-profile gigs anytime soon (outside of his upcoming “Death on the Nile” co-starring role that is too expensive to reshoot, reportedly). The official reason, per the Deadline report, is that the actor wasn’t available for reshoots, so Arnett was brought in to replace him. So yeah, take that for what it’s worth.
No release date has been set for “Next Goal Wins,” but it’s fully expected that the film will arrive sometime in 2022.
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