Taika Waititi Teases He May Give Wife Rita Ora Her Own Movie: ‘That’s Probably on the Cards’ (Exclusive)

Rita Ora could be the next leading actress wife of Taika Waititi.

On Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he attended the world premiere of his sports drama Next goal wins, PEOPLE asked the director if he would ever write Ora, 32, her own movie to star in.

“It’s probably on the cards, yes,” Waititi, 48, says.

As for his new film, it’s based on a true story and follows Dutch-American manager Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) “in the slow-moving island community” of American Samoa, where he’s “determined to instill football discipline in the team as they qualify for the World Cup in soccer in 2014,” according to a synopsis on TIFF’s website.

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Taika Waititi attends Next goal wins premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario.

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Despite the direction Next goal wins (based on the 2014 documentary of the same name by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison), Waititi says, “Football has never been a big part of my life.”

“New Zealand’s No. 1 sport is rugby; it’s my favorite game,” he tells PEOPLE. “I also grew up admiring it [soccer] player and I have watched a lot of football in my life. It was a sport I didn’t know as much as I know rugby, but, more than that, it was about the team and the people.”

While Ora is not a part Next goal winsthe Thor: Love and Thunder The director has worked professionally with his actress-singer wife before, including in the music video for her song “Praising You”.

“I love working with her,” Waititi said The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. “It’s just a good laugh. It’s nice to be married to and work with someone who is extremely talented. We have a similar sense of humor and listen to the same things.”

Taika Waititi and Rita Ora at the Met Gala in New York on May 1, 2023.

Matt Winkelmeyer/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Timeline of Rita Ora and Taika Waititi’s relationship

Elsewhere in that interview, the director raved about how Ora “dropped out of school early to become a freakin’ big pop star, and she says the freakin’ coolest things as a result.”

“She’s like, ‘I’m walking around the corner, and slow and lo and behold, it was right in front of me.’ And I was like, ‘Honey, there it is,'” Waititi said THR. “And she’s like, ‘No, slow and behold, much better.’ I said, ‘You’re not wrong. Slow and behold, it sounds fucking better.’ ”

Ora — who married Waititi in August 2022 — told PEOPLE in July that he is her “biggest supporter and advocate” and that she “loves to bounce ideas off him.”

Next goal wins in cinemas on 17.11.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education