'Thirteen Lives' trailer: Ron Howard movie tells tense story behind Thai cave rescue

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Amazon and MGM have released the trailer for Ron Howard’s film “Thirteen Lives,” which is based on the true story of an international rescue effort to save a trapped Thai soccer team in 2018.

“Thirteen Lives” tells the story of the mission to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach after they find themselves stuck in Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, due to an unexpected rainstorm on June 23, 2018.

More than 10,000 volunteers with Thai forces, including acclaimed cave divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, joined the rescue effort.

Faced with insurmountable odds, the successful mission found the group alive about 2.5 miles from the cave’s entrance. All 13 people were rescued from the cave between July 8 and 10 in 2018.

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Howard’s film stars Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Viggo Mortensen, Tom Bateman and Paul Gleeson along with Thai actors Pattrakorn Tungsupakul, Teerapat Sajakul, James Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Popetorn Soonthornyanakij and Sukollawat Kanaros.

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“It wasn’t about us coming in as actors playing these British divers who were there to save the day and rescue,” Farrell, who portrays Volanthen, said in a press conference on Monday. “It was really about us being led by our Thai brothers and sisters, and those people who we were playing as well, of course, the divers, and how they guided us through the actual events that took place, and how serious it was.”

“I’ve done various things throughout my career,” he added. “But to be part of something that ultimately at its core was, and in a time where the world seems to be living under greater and greater division, was really about these different people from different nationalities, different cultural backgrounds coming together for a common purpose.”

Howard, a two-time Oscar winner, led his cast to recreate the cave’s haunting and suspenseful nature with experiences from real divers.

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“People think they know the story but there’s so much more to know that is suspenseful and emotional,” Howard said. “I think we’re all just really grateful to have tackled the story with a point of view and a kind of a set of reasons in that it hopefully does remind us of what is possible when we come together, unify, and work.”

“The sort of emotional risks, the career risks, the physical risks involved in doing the right thing,” he continued. “Here’s an example where it came together and it worked, and that’s why you choose these true stories that are extraordinary, that are stranger than fiction in a way.”

“Thirteen Lives” will premiere in theaters on July 29 before becoming available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on Aug. 5.

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All Images via MGM