Nike Casts Over 30 Stars for Its World Cup Film

Nike launched "Rip the Script," a six-minute FIFA World Cup 2026 film starring more than 30 athletes, entertainers, musicians, and creators.

The spot arrives before the tournament kicks off on June 11, bringing current players, retired icons, and cultural figures onto a Hollywood-style studio set.

Current players in the film are Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Vini Jr., Erling Haaland, and Cole Palmer, alongside legends Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Didier Drogba, and Eric Cantona.

The film also features LeBron James, Kim Kardashian, her son Saint, Travis Scott, Young Miko, LISA, Central Cee, Channing Tatum, Serena Williams, Kate Scott, and Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso.

Creative agency Wieden+Kennedy created the campaign, and Somesuch’s Dan Streit directed the film.

It anchors a wider content campaign that includes about 185 follow-up short films running across the tournament window.

Nike previewed the launch with signed Polaroids captioned "Time to go off script," teasing 12 weeks of talent, collaborations, and product reveals.

The Studio Set as the Pitch

"Rip the Script" opens on a Hollywood backlot where a director tries to run a controlled shoot before the players instinctively take over.

Once the action starts, the film moves through skill, comedy, gear cues, and cultural references.

Mbappé scores a bicycle kick. Vini Jr. sidesteps hostility with a smile.

Haaland steals a young street player's big scene while Tatum watches as his stand-in.

The casting is a distribution strategy.

Each name opens the film to a different algorithm, and Saint showing up in the new Paris Saint-Germain x Awake NY jersey makes a cameo double as a product reveal.

Every personality has a job, from widening the audience reach to setting up later content extensions.

Nike VP Helena Thornton said in a press release that the brand loves football that feels "fresh, instinctive, unexpected and creative."

"We made this film to meet football communities exactly where they are, not just on a screen, but in their world and deeply engrained into their subcultures.

We wanted to give them something worth talking about, worth clipping, worth wearing, worth showing up to," Thornton added.

Nike is essentially outsourcing the campaign's reach to its audiences, and every post, outfit, and ticket becomes media the brand didn't have to buy.

On Every Corner This Summer

The film is one piece of a summer rollout that runs through stores, products, and youth football.

Before the launch, Nike also released X2 capsule videos with Palace, Jacquemus, and Patta.

The X2 program covers seven country-specific styles shaped by local football culture.

The rollout also includes a LEGO collaboration and a Kids of Immigrants video directed by Joshua Kissi.

Meanwhile, the product side includes 2026 federation kits with Aero-FIT technology and an elite boot lineup.

Sportswear collections include Cryoshot, Mad 90 Pack, and Hollywood Keepers.

Toma el Juego brings Nike’s World Cup push into street play.

The community-led program has run more than 100 tournaments across six continents and more than 20 cities, giving small-sided players a route toward elite systems.

The finals took place on June 7 in Los Angeles and will stream globally on Amazon, with public viewing points in New York and L.A.

Nike will also refresh more than 5,000 owned and wholesale retail locations.

In addition, the brand will open House of Merc at 21 Mercer in New York, Estadio Niky’s in Los Angeles, and The Roof At Vanta in Dallas.

Nike's World Cup rollout offers three useful takeaways:

• Cast with a purpose. Cameos work harder when they create future content, not just recognition.
• Plant the product inside the story. Gear lands better when viewers discover it inside the action.
• Build places to join. Tournaments, store takeovers, and viewing points make a global campaign feel local.

When a hero film, retail footprint, and community program pull in the same direction, the campaign earns attention at every level of the funnel.

Our Take: Will It Be Worth the Investment?

We think yes, but the real answer still depends on what happens over the next 12 weeks.

A cast this size and this famous costs more than most brands spend on an entire year of marketing.

The 185 follow-up shorts are how Nike earns its investment back, staying relevant through every upset, injury, and viral moment of the tournament.

The real return comes from whether the content team can move fast enough to match the tournament's pace and release the right pieces at the right time.

If they do, Nike gets three months of cultural presence (and maybe more) for the price of one rather expensive production cycle.

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