Saipan, a new film dramatizing the events leading up to Ireland’s controversial 2002 World Cup campaign, will begin production this summer. BAFTA-nominated Irish actor Éanna Hardwicke (Lakelands, William Tell) will portray Ireland’s football captain Roy Keane, while two-time Oscar nominee Steve Coogan (Joker: Folie à Deux, The Reckoning) has been cast as Ireland manager Mick McCarthy.
The film, set to be directed by award-winning filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn (Good Vibrations, Ordinary Love), from an original script by writer Paul Fraser (TwentyFourSeven, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, Dead Man’s Shoes), will dramatize the Saipan incident – a highly publicized dispute in May 2002 between the then Republic of Ireland national football team captain Roy Keane and manager Mick McCarthy. The incident occurred while the team was preparing in Saipan, Japan for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and resulted in Keane being sent home from the squad. This public spat divided opinion in Ireland and continues to be a point of discussion to this day.
Commenting on the news, Barros D’Sa and Leyburn said, “We’re thrilled to be working with this extraordinary cast and creative team to tell the story of an infamous moment in Irish and football history that drew battle lines across a nation, cast its hopes, dreams and sense of identity into disarray, and briefly made a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific one of the most famous places on earth.”
Wildcard and Vertigo Releasing have secured the UK and Ireland distribution rights for the film and are planning a Summer 2025 theatrical release.
Saipan will be made in association with Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen. Filming is scheduled to take place in Ireland and Saipan later this summer. Greg Martin will serve as Executive Producer for Screen Ireland, while Ursula Devine will hold the same role for Northern Ireland Screen.
