Back in September 2020, we learned that an interesting new project was being lined up with Netflix that’s going to finally bring Three-Body Problem to live action. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss set their deal up with Netflix previously with a huge overall look at projects and this is the first thing that they’re going to work on after wrapping up Game of Thrones for HBO. The novel series comes from Liu Cixin and it looks like a strong team coming together for this adaptation of it.
While originally set for a January 2024 premiere, the project was pushed back to a March 21st, 2024 release and earlier this week saw the streamer has dropped the final trailer for the show while also giving it a SXSW festival premiere. With that in mind, they’ve also now released a promo that introduces the cast as they talk about their approach to the show and the story itself.
The cast includes:
- Benedict Wong (Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
- Tsai Chin (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings)
- John Bradley
- Liam Cunningham
- Jovan Adepo (When They See Us)
- Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver)
- Jess Hong (Inked: The Brokenwood Mysteries)
- Marlo Kelly (Dare Me)
- Alex Sharp (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
- Sea Shimooka (Arrow)
- Zine Tseng
- Saamer Usmani (The Mauritanian)
The project has Hong Kong director Derek Tsang working on it and directing the first episode. Tsang recently got a lot of his buzz for the Better Days film and has been moving along well since hirs first solo film back in 2016 with Soul Mate.
Alexander Woo of The Terror: Infamy is set up to write and executive produce along with the other two while Rian Johnson will executive produce as well with Ram Bergman. And Brad Pitt’s Plan B production company will be involved alongside Rosamund Pike and Robie Uniacke via their production company, Primitive Streak.
And, according to Deadline, “Lin Qi, chairman of the rights-holders, Yoozoo Group and The Three-Body Universe, and Zhao Jilong, vice president of The Three-Body Universe, will also exec produce alongside Bernadette Caulfield, the Game of Thrones exec producer who was recently installed as President of Benioff & Weiss’ production company, and Nena Rodrigue, President of Television for Johnson and Bergman’s production company, T-Street. Author Liu Cixin has joined as a consulting producer alongside Ken Liu, who wrote the English translation for The Three-Body Problem and Death’s End.”
Netflix’s Peter Friedlander said, “Although it may seem like a familiar premise – the story of humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization – Chinese author Liu Cixin’s ability to interweave science with fiction made his vision of the future and extra-terrestrial contact feel more realistic than any other science fiction I’ve read. At the same time, I was also drawn in by the story of all of humanity vulnerable to the same external threat and how this both unifies and divides humans,” he said. “Since my earliest days at Netflix working on series like Black Mirror and Sense8, I’ve sought out stories and POVs that are singular. This story felt singular, special – and eminently relatable.”
Liu Cixin said, “I have the greatest respect for and faith in the creative team adapting The Three-Body Problem for television audiences. I set out to tell a story that transcends time and the confines of nations, cultures and races; one that compels us to consider the fate of humankind as a whole. It is a great honor as an author to see this unique sci-fi concept travel and gain fandom across the globe and I am excited for new and existing fans all over the world to discover the story on Netflix.”
Alexander Woo added, “It’s a privilege to be adapting one of the great masterpieces of Chinese science-fiction. The Three-Body Problem trilogy combines so many things I love: rich, multi-layered characters and true existential stakes – all told as an elegant and deeply human allegory. I’m thrilled to kick off my partnership with Netflix with this accomplished creative team.”
Plot Concept: A secret military group sends signals into space in hopes of establishing contact with aliens — and succeeds.
Picking up their signal is an alien civilization on the brink of destruction who now readies to invade Earth.
News of the coming invasion divides humanity like never before. Some want to help the superior beings take over a world they see as corrupt. Others prepare to fight the invasion at all cost.
