Luke Wilson to star in movie about Fort Worth Little League baseball team

Anyone who knows the history of St. Mark’s School of Texas knows that Luke Wilson was quite an athlete, lettering in football and track. But what most Americans know him for is the movies. And in that field, he’s making news yet again.

Wilson will team with Greg Kinnear (As Good as It Gets), Sarah Gadon (11.22.63) and Molly Parker (Deadwood) for a film about Fort Worth’s 2002 Westside Little League team titled You Gotta Believe.

“We will definitely have a premiere in Fort Worth,” Wilson told The Dallas Morning News late last month.

The movie is a true story about the youth squad that seized local drama by becoming the first Fort Worth team to play in the Little League World Series since 1960. The players dedicated their championship drive to the father of first baseman Robert Ratliff. Ratliff’s dad, whom Luke Wilson will play, had battled melanoma for a year, but still to made it to the series in South Williamsport, Pa.

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The team came close but fell agonizingly short of becoming Little League champions, losing 2-1 in 11 innings to an opposing squad from Louisville, Ky. Both starting pitchers threw no-hitters through six innings.

You Gotta Believe follows the emotional tale of both the team and the elder Ratliff. Adding to the mix is southpaw sensation Walker Kelly, the son of coach Jon Kelly, whom Oscar-nominated actor Greg Kinnear will portray.

For Wilson, the project means reuniting with director Ty Roberts, who directed him in the 2021 Great Depression football drama 12 Mighty Orphans, based on the bestselling book by Jim Dent.

“Always great to see work with people you know,” Wilson told The News. “And we put together the same team from 12 Mighty Orphans.”

The film is being produced and financed under the banner of Texas-based Santa Rita Film Co., led by producers Houston Hill and Roberts.

“We are so excited to share this inspirational Fort Worth story with the world,” said Hill. “We have an amazing cast and an incredible partner in Little League International. This is a story that audiences of all ages and families can enjoy together.”

Roberts said in a statement to Deadline that “Some of the most compelling stories come from sports, no matter what age.”

Wilson is adding other entries to his portfolio as well. Deadline notes that he will soon be seen in Kevin Costner’s multipart Western epic Horizon for New Line and the Apple TV+ sci-fi romance Fingernails.