One of Netflix's most ambitious and expensive sci-fi series to date helmed by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo.
The Three-Body Problem Book Cover and Netflix Logo
Netflix has wrapped filming on its ambitious new sci-fi adaptation series of Liu Cixin’s TheThree-Body Problem trilogy, led by True Blood‘s Alexander Woo and Game of Thrones writers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Here’s everything we know about the series coming in 2023 as of October 2022.
Netflix struck a deal with The Three-Body Universe and Yoozoo Group for the rights to produce an English-language adaptation of the books in September 2020.
The sci-fi drama will be produced by Game of Thrones duo’s Bighead Littlehead production company and will be one of the many projects in their overall deal with Netflix.
Pictured: Executive producers D.B. Weiss, David Benioff and Alexander Woo
In an official press release, Benioff and Weiss offered their comment on adapting the Chinese book series into television:
“Liu Cixin’s trilogy is the most ambitious science-fiction series we’ve read, taking readers on a journey from the 1960s until the end of time, from life on our pale blue dot to the distant fringes of the universe. We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”
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.”
Attached to the sci-fi project as executive producers are also Star Wars and Knives Out director Rian Johnson as well as actors Brad Pitt and Rosamund Pike. It is currently unknown whether Rian Johnson will also serve as a director. Johnson is no stranger to television as he helmed the iconic Breaking Bad episode “Ozymandias” several years ago.
What is the plot of The Three-Body Problem?
Written by Chinese author Liu Cixin, the three books in his trilogy tell the story of the first human contact with alien life from the planet called Trisolaris and the conflict between the two species that starts to brew over many years.
The Netflix series is expected to start from the first book of the trilogy, Remembrance of Earth’s Past, which sets the story in China during the cultural revolution era, with scientists committing suicide due to involvement with the mysterious society Frontiers of Science.
Without getting into major spoilers, one of the main leads, Ye Wenjie, is a scientist who gets disillusioned by the government and humanity in general and willingly causes the Trisolarians to discover Earth’s location and prepare for invasion. It would take them a couple of centuries to get to Earth so humans still have time.
Years later, Ye is the leader of a secret organization of alien invasion supporters. The group has broken into two factions: those who want Trisolarians to invade and forcibly improve humanity and those who want the Trisolarians to exterminate humanity. The aliens on their part have been conducting various forms of espionage over the years causing mysterious cases of deaths, suicides, and disappearances of key scientific figures. As the year’s pass, the conflict becomes closer and tenser.
The Three-Body Problem, the story of humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization inspired by @cixinliu’s renowned novel, will be adapted as a Netflix series from David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo. pic.twitter.com/Dily05j2Vw
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) September 1, 2020
The book author himself, Liu Cixin, is very excited and proud of this partnership with Netflix:
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.
The Three-Body Problem is an ambitious large-scale story with many interesting characters, locations, and plotlines. It’s been said that the creators plan to “treat the books with the largest amount of respect”.
Who is cast in The Three-Body Problem?
On October 29, 2021, Netflix announced 12 primary cast members for the series. They are:
- Jovan Adepo (Watchmen)
- John Bradley (Game of Thrones)
- Tsai Chin (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings)
- Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones)
- Elza González (Baby Driver)
- Jess Hong (Inked)
- Marlo Kelly (Dare Me)
- Alex Sharp (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
- Sea Shimooka (Arrow)
- Zine Tseng
- Saamer Usmani (Succession)
- Benedict Wong (Dr. Strange in theMultiverse of Madness)
We’ve also learned that Russell Yuen will guest star throughout season 1. He’s expected to play Emperor Zhou.
Stacy Abalogun is also expected to play the role of Thelma in the series.
Tony Leung also has been on the record in implying he’s part of the project.
Jonathan Pryce, Rosalind Chao and Ben Schnetzer – Picture: Getty Images
In June 2022, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that four more cast members had joined the cast with those being:
- Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes, Game of Thrones)
- Rosalind Chao (Better Things)
- Ben Schnetzer (Y: The Last Man)
- Eve Ridley (Peppa Pig)
How many episodes the first season will The Three-Body Problemhave?
No official number has been given about an episode count for The Three-Body Problem.
With that said, Pandaily has reported that 24 episodesare being produced for the series. We do know that each episode is about 60 minutes in length.
What’s the production status of The Three-Body Problem?
Netflix’s The Three-Body Problem is currently set to enter production in November 2021 in the United Kingdom and China. Filming is planned to continue through to August 2022 according to issue 1265 of Production Weekly.
Pandaily reports that the production of the series was originally due to take place for a total of 12 months from September 2019. That failed to materialize, however, and the filming got underway in November 2021. It is currently due to wrap filming in September 2022.
Promoting the Universal movie, Ambulance, Eliza Gonzalez talked about the upcoming Netflix series with Joe.co.uk.
Eiza Gonzalez talks about her upcoming Netflix series ‘The Three Body Problem’ (currently filming) & working with the Game Of Thrones producers & cast. pic.twitter.com/ZB0NFuKeRh
— Eiza Gonzalez News (@EizaGonzalez_HQ) March 24, 2022
In November 2021, the series was looking for a large number of extras, according to BackStage. Their ad states:
“Key Casting’s Rosie Carter is seeking men and women aged 17+ for the new Netflix series Straight Shooter. The project is filming into 2022 in London and Surrey, and requires actors from Chinese backgrounds.”
In early 2022, the production filmed in locations such as Surrey/Somerset in the United Kingdom according to local reporting.
Filming notice 🎬 – Tuesday 8th – Friday 11th March 2022 (inclusive)
The Cathedral will be in use for filming and there will be no public access. Services have been moved to the @Bishops_Palace, Vicars' Close Chapel, and St Cuthbert's Church https://t.co/dfnlBngj2i pic.twitter.com/slbeJDsGx3— Wells Cathedral (@WellsCathedral1) March 7, 2022
Some other eagled-eyed eyewitnesses also caught the show filming in London in late April 2022 with some of the filming taking place in London’s iconic Picadilly Circus.
Filming at Picadilly Circus for The Three-Body Problem – Picture: Netflix Tudum
In late May 2022, a drone company by the name of AirDroneView posted that they had completed work on a series with the working title of Straight Shooter, saying:
“We have traveled to the area of Las Villuercas, to climb to the top, Pico Villuercas, at 1603 meters of altitude, to participate in the new Netflix series «Straight Shooter», carrying out a series of works with drones in the environment.”
Drone shots for The Three-Body Problem – Picture: AirDroneView
In late August 2022, the production moved to Florida filming at St. Augustine. They hired out 800 nights at a hotel, according to one report and were filming at the Magic Beach Motel at Vilano Beach.
At Tudum, the creators of The Three-Body Problem confirmed that they had “just wrapped production” on the series adding that they’re “hard at work on the post-production process.”
The Three-Body Problem featured at just over the half-hour mark in the video above and treated us to plenty of teases about the forthcoming series and behind-the-scenes pictures:
Picture: Netflix Tudum
Picture: Netflix Tudum
Picture: Netflix Tudum
Who’s directing Netflix’s The Three-Body Problem?
Pictured: Derek Tsang and Minkie Spiro
The first director attached to the project Derek Tsang best known for his work on Better Days and his solo directorial debut on 2016’s Soul Mate. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he’s the director of the pilot episode.
Minkie Spiro is also reportedly on board to direct at least three episodes of the series. Spiro is best known for working on Netflix’s Pieces of Her where she directed all 8 episodes and served as an executive producer. Elsewhere, she’s directed episodes on Fosse/Verdon, Netflix’s Dead to Me and HBO’s Barry.
Is Three-Body Problem getting a spinoff? What is Netflix’s The Dark Forest?
In issue 1235 of Production Weekly we noticed a curious entry for a project named The Dark Forest with the exact same production team as The Three-Body Problem. Benioff, Weiss, Woo, Johnson, Pitt, Pike, everyone. The Dark Forest is the name of the second novel in The Three-Body Problem trilogy by Liu Cixin. The project even has a logline that pretty much presents itself as a logline of the second book:
“In The Dark Forest, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion-in just four centuries’ time. The aliens’ human collaborators may have been defeated, but the presence of the sophons, the subatomic particles that allow Trisolaris instant access to all human information, means that Earth’s defense plans are totally exposed to the enemy. Only the human mind remains a secret. This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a daring plan that grants four men enormous resources to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown. Luo Ji, an unambitious Chinese astronomer and sociologist, is baffled by his new status. All he knows is that he’s the one Wallfacer that Trisolaris wants dead.”
As Liu Cixin’s story takes place over a vast amount of decades and even centuries, we are thinking that The Dark Forest is the second series in this universe and down the line, it may not even be the last.
The Three-Body Problem Netflix Controversy
In September 2020, The Three-Body Problem became controversialas five US senators sent a letter to Netflix president Ted Sarandos accusing the streaming service of normalizing the Chinese government’s brutal incarceration of more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims.
This was in response to comments by author Liu Cixin about the Chinese government’s actions.
Netflix responded shortly after, firmly standing its ground on moving ahead with the project while detaching itself from Cixin’s controversial comments:
“Mr. Liu is the author of the books, not the creator of this series. Mr. Liu’s comments are not reflective of the views of Netflix or of the show’s creators, nor are they part of the plot or themes of the show. We do not agree with his comments, which are entirely unrelated to his book or this Netflix show. Mr. Liu is a Chinese citizen living in China – he is the author of the books, not the creator of this Netflix series. The creators are David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators of Game of Thrones, and Alexander Woo, executive producer/writer on the series True Blood.”
When will Three-Body Problembe released on Netflix?
We have no official information on the release date of Three-Body Problem, but since the first season is set to wrap in late 2022, it won’t be until at least 2023 when it drops on Netflix.
Are you looking forward to The Three-Body Problem on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.
FAQs
Is The Three-Body Problem Based on a true story? ›
The series portrays a fictional past, present and future where, in the first book, Earth encounters an alien civilization in a nearby star system that consists of three solar-type stars orbiting each other in an unstable three-body system.
Does Netflix have Three-Body problems? ›When will The Three-Body Problem come out? With the series in post-production as of September 2022, Netflix's Tudum blog announced that it'll be available to watch in 2023.
Will The Three-Body Problem be made into a movie? ›Netflix will release an adaptation of the book The Three-Body Problem in 2023. Netflix has shared updates on the film adaptation of Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem. The series from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss was first announced in 2020 and will be released next year.
What is the plot of The Three-Body Problem? ›Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth.
Is The Three-Body Problem popular in China? ›Three-Body, a 30-episode drama created by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, became the company's most popular streamed programme on its January 15 debut, according to the Tencent Video platform. As of January 26, it had an 8.0 out of 10 rating on Douban, China's equivalent of online database IMDb.
Why is the 3 body problem unsolvable? ›Everything is pushed and pulled by different forces—so many forces and with such complexity that the “three bodies” are almost completely unpredictable from moment to moment, even if we know where they just were an instant before.
Does Netflix have a secret menu? ›To use the feature, all you have to do is type "netflix.com/browse/genre/CODE" into your browser, and you'll go straight to the secret list for that category.
How much did Netflix pay for The Three-Body Problem? ›Netflix signed Benioff and Weiss to a lucrative $200 million deal in 2019.
Is The Three-Body Problem finished? ›Weiss and Alexander Woo. Netflix has wrapped filming on its ambitious new sci-fi adaptation series of Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem trilogy, led by True Blood's Alexander Woo and Game of Thrones writers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Here's everything we know about the series coming in 2023 as of October 2022.
Is The Three-Body Problem trilogy worth reading? ›It's worth every ounce of effort. The book's well-earned suspense hinges on moral dilemmas that resonate far beyond its nationality or even its heady, abstract physics ... If The Three-Body Problem... helps bridge the gap between Eastern and Western SF, it will have performed a great duty for the literary world.
What is a Sophon in The Three-Body Problem? ›
A sophon is a fictional proton-sized supercomputer from The Three-Body Problem that is sent by an alien civilization to halt scientific progress on Earth. It's capable of causing strange phenomena—such as inscribing flashing words on the retinas of elite scientists.
How popular is The Three-Body Problem? ›Liu has sold at least 8 million copies of The Three-Body Problem, with roughly 1.5 million of those copies sold outside of China. In China, Liu's series has been a massive hit, still reaching the top ranks of Chinese bestseller lists more than a decade after publication.
Who solved The Three-Body Problem? ›Now, with the current study by Ginat and Perets, the entire, multi-stage, three-body interaction is fully solved, statistically.
What do the Trisolarans look like? ›However, they are physically described in the semi-canonized fan novel Redemption of Time as silvery insectoid creatures, roughly comparable to ants or rice grains in size and shape.
What happens to Wang Miao? ›Wang Miao is the star of the show for the entire of Three Body Problem, and simply vanishes from the set of The Dark Forest. He doesn't die, retire or become otherwise incapacitated. He simply isn't relevant any more.
What are the five leading causes of death in China? ›This study reveals that in China, the top 5 consistent causes of death are malignant tumor, cerebrovascular disease, heart trouble, respiratory disease, and trauma and toxicosis during the past 18 years.
What is a Sophon? ›Sophon, a fictional elementary particle created by unfolding a proton into 2 dimensions and engraving it with circuitry, in the novel The Three-Body Problem. (Spoiler) Sophon, the fictional character embodying the aforenamed technology in the sequel novel Death's End.
Is The Three-Body Problem banned in China? ›The book The Three-Body Problem criticizes the Cultural Revolution, but it has never been banned in China. The writer Liu Cixin is a Chinese national and the book was originally written in Chinese. It is the first book in the trilogy of books known as Remembrance of Earth's Past.
Can machine learning really solve The Three-Body Problem? ›“We have shown that deep artificial neural networks produce fast and accurate solutions to the computationally challenging three-body problem over a fixed time interval,” say Breen and co.
Why does McGinn think that the mind-body problem Cannot be solved? ›In this paper McGinn attempts to relieve the philosophical enigma without providing a solution to the problem of how consciousness is related to the brain. The theory that would resolve the mind-body problem is unknowable to us human beings because of our cognitive limitations or what he calls cognitive closure.
How do I unlock the secret menu on Netflix? ›
To explore these collections — ordering off the secret menu, if you will — all you need to do is fire up your web browser, type in “netflix.com/browse/genre/” and then add your ID code of choice to the end of the URL.
How do I access the hidden menu? ›- Open the dialing pad as if you were making a phone call.
- Type *#0*#
- The menu will appear automatically.
- Action & Adventure: 1365.
- Action Comedies: 43040.
- Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy: 1568.
- Action Thrillers: 43048.
- Adult Animation: 11881.
- Adventures: 7442.
- African Movies: 3761.
- Alien Sci-Fi: 3327.
The Machines—a film that costed $110 million to make and spent 14 consecutive days in the #1 position (easily one of the best streaks ever).
How many millions did Netflix lose? ›Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter, and nearly one million in the second. “After a challenging first half, we believe we're on a path to re-accelerate growth,” Netflix said in its quarterly letter to shareholders.
Who killed the Trisolarans? ›Upon detecting the MAD broadcast, the Trisolarans abandon their invasion of the Earth. A few years later, as humanity recovers, one of Trisolaris's three suns is struck by a relativistic "photoid" launched by unspecified aliens, leading to the planet's utter incineration.
Who destroyed Trisolaris? ›The world of Trisolaris was destroyed by a relativistic projectile which gouged open one of its suns, engulfing the planet in the star's contents. Only the Trisolarans aboard the invasion fleets survived.
What is the dual vector foil? ›A mysterious higher intelligence that patrols the universe passes by our solar system and projects an extraordinarily thin sheet toward us. Called “dual vector foil,” this sheet changes the structure of the space-time continuum, reducing the three-dimensional solar system to two dimensions.
Why is three-body problem so good? ›Like most good books, the power in Three Body lies in its absorbing narrative as well as the knowledge (and perhaps, understanding) it brings to its reader. This new science fiction classic introduces readers to a whole new world – but for western readers, that whole new world may be China itself.
What year does The Three-Body Problem take place? ›
Liu is an engineer, and it shows: The Three-Body Problem is hard science fiction with a mix of cultural history, conspiracy theory, and theoretical physics. It begins in the 60s, during Mao's Cultural Revolution.
Is The Three-Body Problem easy to read? ›This is hard science fiction in both meanings of that phrase. This book has earned great prestige within western sci-fi circles but will be challenging for most western sci-fi readers. It's practically the definition of a difficult book.
How far is Trisolaris from Earth? ›This technology is created and utilized by the alien Trisolaris civilization, and allows them to interact with Earth in real-time, despite being located 4 light-years away.
How was Luo Ji his own wallbreaker? ›He is his own Wallbreaker when he concludes that the axioms result in the Dark Forest state of the universe, and thus the only strategic option against the Trisolarians is mutually assured destruction through broadcast of their interstellar coordinates.
What is Red Coast in The Three-Body Problem? ›Red Coast (红岸) is the fictional name of a Chinese national defense project located in Radar Peak, also the site of the Red Coast Base. Its real-life prototype might be the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in the USA.
What is the weapon in three-body problem? ›Droplets are small unmanned spaceships that originate from the alien planet Trisolaris and they are featured in the Three-Body Problem sci-fi novel trilogy. Despite their miniscule size, these spacecrafts are devastatingly powerful weapons, and even one is more than a match for the entirety of Earth's military forces.
What is the spin off novel of three-body problem? ›Set in the universe of the New York Times bestselling Three-Body Problem trilogy, The Redemption of Time continues Cixin Liu's multi-award-winning science fiction saga.
What is the three-body problem in Alpha Centauri? ›The Three-Body Problem
The first novel in the series was translated into English in 2014 and won the 2015 Hugo Award. The first book, called "The Three-Body Problem", concerns a race of aliens who live in a triple star system near Earth that's based on Alpha Centauri.
Ye Wenjie (叶文洁)
Ye Wenjie is one of the protagonists of the novel. Her backstory constitutes a significant portion of the text, and it is told in various stages and forms throughout. In 1967, as an astrophysics student and daughter of intellectuals, she is considered an enemy during the Cultural Revolution.
洛基 Luò jī Loki, god of fire and mischievous destroyer in Norse mythology.
What is the three body universe? ›
The Three-Body Universe is a sci-fi/fantasy IP developer and operator built around its Hugo Award-winning core IP – The Three-Body Problem.
Who Solved the three body problem? ›Now, with the current study by Ginat and Perets, the entire, multi-stage, three-body interaction is fully solved, statistically.
What happened to Wang Miao after three body problem? ›Wang Miao is the star of the show for the entire of Three Body Problem, and simply vanishes from the set of The Dark Forest. He doesn't die, retire or become otherwise incapacitated. He simply isn't relevant any more.
What year does the three body problem take place? ›Liu is an engineer, and it shows: The Three-Body Problem is hard science fiction with a mix of cultural history, conspiracy theory, and theoretical physics. It begins in the 60s, during Mao's Cultural Revolution.
What happened to Trisolaris? ›The use of the dark forest broadcast ended the conflict between Trisolaris and Earth by dooming both worlds. The world of Trisolaris was destroyed by a relativistic projectile which gouged open one of its suns, engulfing the planet in the star's contents. Only the Trisolarans aboard the invasion fleets survived.
Where does Ken Liu live now? ›Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.