Steve Coogan Set To Play Mick McCarthy In Saipan
Éanna Hardwicke will be Roy Keane in the infamous 2002 FIFA World Cup incident
Steve Coogan and Éanna Hardwicke (Lakelands, The Sixth Commandment) are set to play Mick McCarthy and Roy Kean in Saipan. A new film about the infamous events leading up to Ireland’s incendiary 2002 World Cup campaign.
The Saipan incident was a very public spat that took place in May 2002 between the then Republic of Ireland national football team captain Roy Keane (Hardwicke) and manager Mick McCarthy (Coogan) when the team was preparing in Saipan, Japan for its 2002 FIFA World Cup. It resulted in Keane being sent home from the squad. The incident divided public opinion in Ireland and rumbles on to this day.
Award Winning filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn (Good Vibrations, Ordinary Love) are set to direct from an original script by Paul Fraser (Heartlands, A Room For Romeo Brass).
Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn commented “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 acquired UK and Ireland rights on the film, and are scheduling a theatrical release for Summer 2025.
Distributors Wildcard and Vertigo Releasing said “Vertigo Releasing and Wildcard are delighted to be partnering on Saipan, which is set to be a major theatrical release in UK and Ireland in Summer 2025. The events of Saipan divided a nation, but we are sure everyone will be united in their love for this once in a generation Irish film directed by the brilliant filmmaking team of Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa.”
Saipan will be made in association with Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, with a shoot set for Ireland and Saipan later this summer. Greg Martin is Executive Producer for Screen Ireland, with Ursula Devine Executive Producer for Northern Ireland Screen.
The film is set to release in 2025, exact release date still to be announced.
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