Steve Coogan and Éanna Hardwicke Transform Into Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane in First Look at ‘Saipan,’ About Infamous 2002 World Cup Walkout (EXCLUSIVE)

The first look of Éanna Hardwicke as Manchester United and Ireland soccer legend Roy Keane alongside Steve Coogan as his embattled Irish national manager Mick McCarthy, has been revealed from upcoming comedy biopic “Saipan.”

The film — first announced earlier in the year by Variety — chronicles one of the most infamous moments in Irish sporting history, when Keane and McCarthy had a very public falling out. Alongside Hardwicke and Coogan, the supporting cast includes Alice Lowe (“Sightseers”), Jamie Beamish (“Derry Girls”), Alex Murphy (“Young Offenders”), Harriett Cairns (“Bridgerton”) and Peter McDonald (“The Batman”). 

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“Saipan” is being directed by Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa — the duo behind “Good Vibrations” and “Ordinary Love” —  — working from an original script by Paul Fraser (“Dead Man’s Shoes”). Bankside Films is handling sales and will be showing a promo to buyers at the American Film Market.

Described as a “true-life comedy of the most epic proportions,” “Saipan” chronicles the events leading up to Ireland’s incendiary 2002 World Cup campaign, when the “intense rivalry between Keane and McCarthy transcended the game and gripped an entire nation.” As per the synopsis, “On the surface, the feud was all about standards, but deep down it was a hugely emotive story of two men whose rivalry and contempt came to surpass the sport they loved. This is the definitive account of one of the most fractious falling-outs in the history of sport.”

The film is being produced by Macdara Kelleher and John Keville for Wild Atlantic Pictures (“Evil Dead Rise,” “Cocaine Bear,” “Black 47”) along with Trevor Birney and Oliver Butler for Fine Point Films (“Kneecap,” “No Stone Unturned”) with Patrick O’Neill and Rachael O’Kane serving as executive producers. Wildcard and Vertigo Releasing have acquired U.K. and Ireland rights on the film and are scheduling a theatrical release in 2025.

The film’s title comes from the infamous so-called “Saipan Incident” in 2002, when Keane was captaining the Irish national side. While preparing for the World Cup on the tiny island of Saipan, the soccer star — known for his hot-headed temperament on and off the field — had a very public, very bitter disagreement with McCarthy, reportedly furious at the training conditions, strategy, travel arrangements, diet and also McCarthy’s competence.

A subsequent interview with Keane in the Irish press sparked a major fallout at the camp, where the footballer is said to have delivered an angry verbal tirade at McCarthy in front of his teammates, telling him to “stick your World Cup up your arse” before flying back to Ireland (although McCarthy later stated he had actually sent him home). The incident caused a huge controversy in Irish society over who was to blame and Keane wouldn’t play for his country again until 2004, after McCarthy had stepped down as manager.