Back in November 2020, it was announced that Academy Awards-winning filmmaker Ron Howard would direct a new movie based on 2018's much-publicized mission to rescue a team of 12 footballers and one coach trapped in a flooding cave in Chiang Rai. Now, the full cast of this upcoming film, entitled Thirteen Lives, has been revealed with the names of A-listed Hollywood and Thai actors.
Leading the list of international stars are Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton who each will play a role of an expert who comes to spearhead the rescue mission. Alongside these actors, a big horde of Thai superstars will partake in Thirteen Lives, including Sukollawat "Weir" Kanarot (Malila: The Farewell Flower), Teerapat "Tui" Sajakul (The Serpent), Sahajak Boonthanakit (The Serpent), Vithaya Pansringarm (Only God Forgives), and Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo (Bad Genius).
According to Deadline, the A Beautiful Mind director and his crew have already begun filming Thirteen Lives in Australia (with the support from the Australian and Queensland Governments) and Thailand. The film is produced by the American studio MGM.
The story of Moo Pa (Wild Boars) Football Academy has first received a silver screen treatment by Thai-Irish director Tom Weller under the title The Cave back only one year after the incident. The director was approved by the Thai government to shoot the film despite some controversies regarding the impact of the film on the rescued. The Cave was premiered at many international film festivals such as the Busan International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival, and the BFI London film festival.