Howard discussed how helpful NatGeo was in their efforts, as well as the real divers/rescuers Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, and Jason Mallinson, because there wasn't that much footage of the actual rescue part of things. He said:

"There were some schematics that we were able to get. Nat Geo loaned them to us, because Brian Grazer and I have done a lot of work with Nat Geo [laughs] and they were great. Schematics made of the cave when it was dry. The trick here in condensing this and making it a movie, making it something visceral, entertaining, suspenseful, is to find those key points. Find those breaking points where it really was do or die, either physically or emotionally. So we went through the caves, and honestly, the guys would just point it out and say, 'This is a particularly difficult [spot]. Here's where a mishap happened. Here's where there was a surprise. This is the way the current changed. This is the way the visibility shifted.' And we just kept taking notes and building sequences around that."

I cannot imagine the terror those kids must have felt, and as someone who has a fear of caves, I'm hoping this doesn't give me months of nightmares. That said,I want to watch, just to once again marvel at the good that sometimes people will do for each other. It's probably a story we all need right now.

"Thirteen Lives" will be released in select theaters on July 29, 2022, for a limited one-week engagement, and will launch globally on Prime Video on August 5, 2022.

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How Ron Howard And His Team Recreated The Dangerous Thai Caves For Thirteen Lives - /Film