The ambitious new sci-fi thriller from Game Of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, is almost upon us.
Spanning several decades in time – from the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1960s to the present day – the story explores a mysterious extraterrestrial force that is killing scientists around the world.
With their brand new sci-fi epic, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will make an eagerly-awaited follow-up to Game Of Thrones – and could be one of the biggest sci-fi and fantasy adaptations to air since GOT ended in 2019.
Benioff and Weiss are joined by a third showrunner, Alexander Woo – best known for producing the chilling horror miniseries The Terror, True Blood and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which starred Oprah Winfrey.
The series will interrogate what exactly it might mean for humanity to make first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.
Such a simplified synopsis, however, is putting it mildly.
Who is in the cast of 3 Body Problem?
Are you sitting comfortably? The film has a large and expansive cast, taking in veteran film and TV actors alongside a host of international talent and newcomers alike.
The cast assembled here includes several Game of Thrones alumni, such as Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaforth), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) and Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow).
Those featured will also include Doctor Strange star Benedict Wong as police officer Da Shi, and Zine Tseng as the young astrophysicist responsible for unleashing all of this in the first place.
With the story spanning several decades, actors will play characters from the 1960s to the present day – with Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Rosalind Chao playing Zine Tseng’s modern-day self.
What is 3 Body Problem based on?
3 Body Problem is based on the trilogy of novels by Liu Cuxin. The show will reportedly have eight episodes, each roughly 60 minutes in length.
The series will cover the entirety of the three books – known in full as the Remembrance of the Earth’s Past trilogy, and consisting of 3 Body Problem (from which this miniseries takes its name), The Dark Forest and Death’s End.
These books span whole centuries and continents as humanity attempts to reckon with the deep existential crisis that this alien threat (?) represents.
Author Liu Cuxin is signed on as one of the show’s consulting producers, along with the books’ English translator, Ken Liu.
Where the novels are set mainly in China, this adaptation has widened the scope and scale somewhat – spanning several continents in uncovering its central mystery.
And, where the Game Of Thrones series is thought to have taken a dip in quality after outpacing George R. Martin’s novels (after which they had to make up their own ending), Benioff and Weiss have a completed trilogy to draw from here.
When is 3 Body Problem on Netflix?
3 Body Problem will stream exclusively on Netflix from March 21, 2024.
With this ambitious, star-studded sci-fi adaptation, Benioff, Weiss and Woo have a real chance at replicating the success of Game of Thrones… minus its controversial ending.
No pressure!
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