Irish star Eanna Hardwicke to play Manchester United football legend Roy Keane in 'Saipan'

Eanna Hardwicke to star as Roy Keane in 'Saipan' alongside Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy, directed by Leyburn and Barros D'Sa.

BAFTA-nominated Irish star Eanna Hardwicke has come on board to essay the role of Manchester United and Ireland football legend Roy Keane in the upcoming Irish feature Saipan. As per Variety, Hardwicke will be joined by two-time Oscar nominee Steve Coogan, who will star as Mick McCarthy, the former Ireland soccer manager with whom Keane had an infamous falling out.

Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D'Sa, the duo behind the critically-lauded 2013 Irish comedy-drama Good Vibrations and the 2019 romance Ordinary Love, will direct the project. The film's title comes from the infamous so-called 'Saipan Incident' in 2002, when Keane was captaining the Irish national side ahead of the FIFA World Cup finals in Japan. While preparing 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.

Wildcard and Vertigo Releasing have acquired U.K. and Ireland rights for the film, and are scheduling a saturation theatrical release for summer 2025. Saipan is described as being about "the events leading up to Ireland's incendiary 2002 World Cup campaign". It is produced by Macdara Kelleher and John Keville for Wild Atlantic Pictures (Evil Dead Rise, Cocaine Bear) along with Trevor Birney and Oliver Butler for Fine Point Films (Kneecap, Bobby Sands: 66 Days) with Patrick O'Neill, Eoin Egan and Rachael O'Kane serving as executive producers.

Roy Keane's career shined when he joined Manchester United in 1993 from Nottingham Forest. He stayed in the English club for 12 years before leaving in 2005. Former United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson labelled him the best he had ever worked with, aspiring footballers and Reds everywhere worshipped the ground he walked on.

Keane had appeared in 480 matches for United and scored 51 goals. He won seven Premier Leagues, four FA Cups and one UEFA Champions League title with the Red Devils. He started his coaching career just after retiring from football, training big names like Sunderland and Ipswich Town FC. Keane was also the assistant manager of Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.