Thai cave rescue film Thirteen Lives takes divers on a terrifying mission

In 2018, the whole world watched as rescuers tried to rescue 12 children and their 25-year-old trainer from Thailand’s Tham Luang Cave. The Heroic Rescue is now a major motion picture, releasing its first trailer on Tuesday. The movie stars Collin Farrell (After Yang), Joel Edgerton (Obi Wan Kenobi) and Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the rings) and directed by Ron Howard (Apollo 13). Thirteen Lives Releases July 29th in select theaters and August 5th on Amazon Prime.

The film follows Richard Stanton (Mortensen), John Volanthen (Farrell) and Richard Harris (Edgerton), three outside experts brought in for their knowledge of cave diving. The three are working alongside many other international parties and the Thai military to rescue the boys’ soccer team members trapped in Tham Luang Cave during a flash flood that left most of the cave submerged. Since cave diving is more difficult and complex than open-ocean diving, the three must quickly figure out the best way to transport the kids and rescue as many as possible.

Thirteen LivesThe first trailer already looks like a tense and somewhat chilling dramatization of the real rescue. But if you’re looking for a preview of the film based on the events it’s based on, you can also check out last year’s documentary The rescuefollowing the crew’s efforts first-hand.