Time to get up from your knees, because your prayers have just been answered – Lola Tung is starring in the sapphic soccer romantic-comedy, Ripe!. I don't know about you, but this might be the summer I fall in love with soccer.
Ripe! initially debuted at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival as a short film, where it won the award for Best Narrative Short. Following its success, it was picked up for development into a feature film. Hints about the project first started appearing at the beginning of May on an Instagram account called @Ripe__xoxo, which posted images of berries, coastlines, and, most recognisably, Lola Tung. Then came the real giveaway: a video of Tung in soccer gear lifting her shirt to wipe away sweat, revealing the title Ripe! printed on her sports bra. It was a pretty major confirmation that this is officially her next project.
While not much is known about the film just yet, below we’re breaking down everything we do know about the upcoming sapphic feature.
Who is in the Ripe! cast?
Lola Tung, as of this moment, is the only known cast member.
Behind the scenes, World Cup champion and former USWNT player Kelly O’Hara is executive producing the project. Now retired from playing the sport, she's turning her eyes to something more creative in the world of soccer. It explains the Instagram videos O'Hara has been posting with Tung as she brushes up on her soccer skills.
With no directors announced, we can hope Tusk, the filmmaker duo that created the original story – Kerry Furrh and Olivia Mitchell – will take the reins for the feature film.
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What is it about?
Set in the rural suburbs of Spain, the story follows an American exchange student Sophie (Lola Tung) and a local girl called Gloria, who go from soccer rivals to lovers. But the question we're thinking about now is who will play Gloria? If you couldn't already tell, the RUSSH team are very excited about this — who doesn't love an enemies to lovers story? And if it follows in the steps of Heated Rivalry, we are absolutely sat.
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When will it be released?
There is currently no production or release date confirmed for Ripe! We're hoping for a June/July 2026 start on production, which would mean a 2027 release. Don't worry, we'll be keeping you updated with all the important information here.
