Taika Waititi to film in Hawaii

New Zealand director Taika Waititi is to film his next feature in Hawaii.

From Fox Searchlight, Next Goal Wins is based on Mike Brett and Steve Jamison’s 2014 documentary about the national football team of American Samoa as they tried to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup under the management of Thomas Rongen.

Waititi will be calling the shots from a screenplay he wrote with Iain Morris (The Inbetweeners) with Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish of The Imaginarium producing alongside Garrett Basch.

Filming on Next Goal Wins will take place in Hawaii later this year, before Waititi takes the helm of Thor: Love and Thunder which shoots in Sydney in 2020. 

The director has recently been winning plaudits for his latest release, Jojo Rabbit; the film won the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Hawaii offers a 20% refundable tax credit on Oahu and 25% on the neighbouring islands such as Kauai, Lanai and Maui. The state has hosted several big-budget productions in recent years, including Jungle Cruise and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.