Howard’s work in the biopic genre extends back to 1995 with the two Oscar-winning Apollo 13, which this project feels very reminiscent of, as well as four Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind, Oscar-nominated Cinderella Man, Oscar-nominated Frost/Nixon and Golden Globe-nominated Rush.
Ron Howard has tackled nearly every kind of biopic Hollywood can think of and as he works on Netflix’s adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy, he is ready to return to the genre as he has signed on to helm Thirteen Lives, based on the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, according to Collider.
Sources are also reporting that despite the competition, CAA is not looking to allow this project to die in development hell and is seeking to fast-track production as soon as the global health crisis clears.
Penned by Oscar nominee William Nicholson (Gladiator, Everest), the story follows the boys soccer team from Thailand who became trapped in a cave for more than weeks when heavy rains partially flooded the cave and blocked their way out.