Biggest Sci-Fi Story Of the Decade Comes To Netflix, Helmed by GoT Creators
One of Netflix's most ambitious projects made by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss is already on its way.
Summary:
- Liu Cixin's trilogy Remembrance of Earth's Past, one of the most important sci-fi events of recent years, will soon be coming to the screens thanks to David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.
- The first book, The Three-Body Problem, tells of mysterious events in the scientific society of China, and focuses on the planet Trisolaris, which civilization periodically dies out due to the so-called Chaotic Eras.
- The show will be released on Netflix on March 21, 2024, and will feature a number of Game of Thrones actors in the cast.
Back in 2020, we found out what the creators (according to another version, the destroyers) of Game of Thrones, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, would do next. Their new project is an adaptation of Liu Cixin's trilogy Remembrance of Earth's Past, also known by the name of the first novel, The Three-Body Problem.
Sci-fi fans, sit back and buckle up, because one of the major events in the world of on-screen science fiction is about to happen.
What Is The Three-Body Problem About?
Cixin's trilogy is one of the most prominent works of modern science fiction, easily comparable to Game of Thrones in its cultural significance, and, most importantly, it is already finished. The Three-Body Problem earned the Chinese author a Nebula nomination and a Hugo, the most prestigious awards in sci-fi.
The events happen in China in two different eras. In the 1960s, at the height of the Cultural Revolution, the country launched the Red Coast program to contact extraterrestrial civilizations using the latest advances in astrophysics.
Scientists succeeded not only in sending a signal, but also in receiving a response: unknown well-wishers at the other end of the line advised the Earthlings to forget about sending the messages and not contact them again for their own safety.
Strange things are happening in 21st century China: scientific progress is stalling, and research is yielding contradictory results. Some desperate scientists commit suicide, others commit themselves to research and receive very unusual threats: one of the characters keeps seeing numbers that represent a countdown.
At the same time, the video game Three-Body gains popularity in the country. It lets everyone who plays the game discover the planet Trisolaris' story: due to an unstable orbit in the triple star system, civilizations on the planet periodically die out when the planet gets too close to the sun; no one can predict when the so-called Chaotic Eras will occur.
Most of the events of the first book take place practically during our time, but the timeline of the whole trilogy is not limited to a hundred years. The author has reasons to go to the distant past and, of course, to look into the future.
It is worth mentioning the wisdom of the producers, who adapted the trilogy in the form of a series, without trying to cram the Chinese sci-fi epic into one (or even three) full-length movies.
What Should We Expect from Benioff and Weiss?
Benioff and Weiss didn't do such a bad job of adapting Martin's source material until they had to come up with something of their own – and whether it was that bad later on is a matter of opinion.
For Weiss, this show will be a special challenge: known only for Game of Thrones, he has tried to fit into sci-fi projects before. In 2006, he co-wrote the screenplay for the Halo movie, then offered his own version of the screenplay for Ender's Game.
We never saw Halo, the Ender's Game script was written by other people. Either way, this adaptation will be a chance for both showrunners to go down in history as more than just the dudes who "screwed up the most prominent show of the century."
Who Was Cast For 3 Body Problem?
The cast of the adaptation called 3 Body Problem includes Benedict Wong, John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, and Jonathan Pryce – the last three names you probably know from GoT.
When Will 3 Body Problem Release?
The show already has an exact release date – March 21, 2024. Netflix also recently released an exclusive clip, which you can watch below.