In 2018, the eyes of the world were on Thailand when a youth soccer team and their coach were trapped in a flooded cave with little hope for rescue. What should have been a joyous field trip turned into a life or death struggle to get the boys and their coach out safely. Now, director Ron Howard is tackling the true story of the Thai cave rescue in his new film, Thirteen Lives. And in the first trailer, an international team of experts attempt to find a way to pull off the impossible. But even the most generous risk assessment suggests that there will be causalities.
The Lord of the Rings veteran Viggo Mortensen is headlining the film as diver Richard Stanton with The Batman‘s Colin Farrell as another diver, John Volanthen. Saving these children is their responsibility, and they come up with an unorthodox plan to do it. But it may only add to the dangers for both the divers and boys who desperately need to escape.
Here’s the official description from MGM Studios and Prime Video:
“In the true story of Thirteen Lives, twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team explore the Tham Luang cave when an unexpected rainstorm traps them in a chamber inside the mountain. Entombed behind a maze of flooded cave tunnels, they face impossible odds. A team of world-class divers navigate through miles of dangerous cave networks to discover that finding the boys is only the beginning.”
Joel Edgerton also stars in the film as Richard Harris, with Sukollawat Kanarot as Saman Kunan, Thiraphat Sajakul as Anand, Sahajak Boonthanakit as Narongsak Osatanakorn, Vithaya Pansringarm as General Anupong Paochinda, Teeradon Supapunpinyo as Ekkaphon Chanthawong, Nophand Boonyai as Thanet Natisri, Tom Bateman as Chris Jewell, Paul Gleeson as Jason Mallinson, Lewis Fitz-Gerald as Vernon Unsworth, and U Gambira as Kruba Boonchum.
William Nicholson penned the screenplay for Thirteen Lives from a story he co-wrote with Don Macpherson. MGM Studios will give Thirteen Lives a limited theatrical release on July 29. However, Prime Video subscribers will only have to wait until August 5 to stream it from their own homes.