Thai cave rescue could get Hollywood treatment

The captivating rescue of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand looks set to get the Hollywood treatment.

The producers behind Christian films such as God’s Not Dead are already in the country with plans to develop a movie about the 18-day saga.

Seven divers in the rescue team were from the UK, including Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, who were the first to reach the group.

Though the drama of headline-grabbing rescues does not often carry over to the big screen, Pure Flix Entertainment co-founder Michael Scott said he believes the story is ripe for movie adaptation.

“We realised that this would make an incredibly inspiring movie,” Mr Scott said.

“Like a lot of people, we know there’s not a lot of positive news in the world today.”

Mr Scott said he feels a personal connection with the story, as his wife is Thai and he was spending the summer in Bangkok when the football team went missing.

He and fellow producer Adam Smith recently travelled to the area around the cave in northern Thailand, and they have begun talking to some of the participants about their “life rights”.

But they also stressed that they are not yet pursuing most of the families of the boys, who on Wednesday remained recuperating in hospital.

“For us it’s not a huge race,” said Mr Smith.

“It’s about making sure we get the authenticity right.”