Trailer Watch: Netflix’s Thai Cave Rescue Retells The Mission From The Perspective Of The Boys

Netflix has dropped the first trailer for Thai Cave Rescue, the highly-anticipated six-ep limited series about the incredible rescue of the 12 boys and the coach of the Thai youth football team Wild Boars who got trapped in flooded limestone caves in Tham Luang, Northern Thailand, in 2018.

The Thai original series will premiere on the streamer on Sept 22.

Unlike the previous versions inspired by the story — including 2021’s The Rescue, the documentary by Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, and Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives, starring Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in August — Thai Cave Rescue, according to Netflix, promises to the “most authentic and expansive retelling yet.”

As glimpsed in the trailer, Thai Cave Rescue — directed by Thailand’s Nattawut ‘Baz’ Poonpiriya (Bad Genius) and Thai-American Kevin Tancharoen (The Book of Boba Fett) — is told from the boys’ standpoint.

The series is also the only production that was granted access to the 12 members of the Wild Boars. Filmed entirely in Thailand, the series features scenes shot at the boy’s’ real homes as well as props from the actual operation.  

“Thai Cave Rescue is the first opportunity for audiences worldwide to see the Tham Luang story in a new and more emotional light — centering the perspectives of the 12 Wild Boars, Coach Eak, and heroes like Saman ‘Ja Sam’ Gunan [the ex-Thai Navy Seal who died in the rescue], whose lives beyond the operation remain largely outside the public spotlight,” said Poonpiriya in a prepared statement released in July (via Variety).

Tancharoen added: “I wanted to bring my experience of telling big superhero stories to the real world. One where real-life superheroes worked together for a common cause regardless of where they were from, and the only superpowers are the perseverance of the human spirit and what we can accomplish when we work together.”

The Thai cast includes Papangkorn ‘Beam’ Lerkchaleampote as football coach Eak, Thaneth ‘Ek’ Warakulnukroh as Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn, and Urassaya ‘Yaya’ Sperbund and Manatsanun ‘Donut’ Phanlerdwongsakul as Kelly and Pim — fictional representatives of the real-world hydraulic engineers and park rangers. Supakorn ‘Tok’ Kitsuwan plays former Thai Navy diver Saman ‘Ja Sam’ Gunan, while Bloom Varin plays army doctor Colonel Bhak Loharjun.

In a meta moment, Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris, the Australian anesthesiologist and cave diver involved in the rescue, served as the body double of actor Rodger Corser, who plays the series’ version of Dr Harris.

Meanwhile, as a primer, check out The Rescue and Thirteen Lives, available on Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, respectively. Watch the trailer here:

Photo: Sasidis Sasisakulporn/Netflix