Hey Sarah,
Definitely am familiar with Campbell’s iconic hero’s journey. It was his book, The Hero With A Thousand faced that helped Lucas write Star Wars A New Hope after all.

But when it comes to sports movie there is only one movie now. Aspiring (insert sport) great is determine to go for (insert sport trophy/title). But knowing his/her odds are impossible they enlist the help of (insert has been greats name here). After grouping hours of work and trials, our sports phenom sets out for his first test on the field/rink/course/ring. But his/her first opponent is delivered an unbelievable setback. Simultaneously, off the field/rink/course/ring our hero/heroine’s (insert familial/love connection) dies while (insert tragic circumstance – the more heart breaking the better) and delivers a set back to our athlete’s chances. But, vowing to overcome all roadblocks in their way, and to win for their loved one’s memory, they double down on their training and workout regimen. (Insert training montage here). And then, the road to the championship begins. Our hero is wobbly, but powers through, until finally, they face that same team/player/country/high school that set them back, but this time, they meet in the championship meet/game/bout. And brilliantly, our hero/heroine overcomes only to realize they really are the stuff of legends. And they dedicate their win to their (insert dead loved one’s name here) and they cry as they hug their friends and family I’m celebration of their feat. Pass the tissues.

Yeah, I’m not a fan. Did you know that in England they have a thing for guys that come in second? I kid you not. They love a good story about an individual that comes close to winning but just barely fails. Somehow, this story resonates with their culture because they like the story of an athlete that that continues on in spite of their failing. I’d take that story over the standard American arc.

Sure, the hero’s journey will never die. It’s as deeply rooted in our collective psyche’s as can possibly be. But could we possibly work in variations on this theme? Anything? Show me a 60 second trailer of a sports film and I could write you out the entirety of the script in an afternoon. They so closely follow this “tried and true” arc that any deviations are seen as a betrayal. This shouldn’t be so.

And I even admitted, that for this movie, going in, I knew exactly what was going to happen, even though I didn’t know the details of the story. But it was the horrifics of this story that made it go. It was the DuPont’s crimes against humanity that caused this story it’s momentum.

Obviously Campbell’s tried and true arcs will never die. But maybe we could get a little more original with them and their details.