'Game of Thrones' duo are making a 'Three-Body Problem' series for Netflix
Rian Johnson is executive producing the alien invasion show.
Fresh off of adapting a book series that did pretty well as a TV show, Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are bringing another trilogy of novels to the small screen. Along with Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy and True Blood), they’ll write and executive produce a Netflix show based on Liu Cixin’s sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem and its two sequels.
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
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) September 1, 2020
Netflix picked up the rights for an English-language adaptation of the Hugo Award-winning trilogy, which tells “the story of humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization.” Woo described it as “one of the great masterpieces of Chinese science-fiction.”
Beyond Benioff, Weiss and Woo, there are some other big names involved with the project. Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Knives Out director Rian Johnson and his producing partner Ram Bergman are on board as executive producers, as are Brad Pitt and Rosamund Pike. Cixin and Ken Liu, who translated two of the novels into English, will act as consulting producers.
“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,” Benioff and Weiss said in a statement. “We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”
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. https://t.co/BkWO0iVBb1
— Liu Cixin (@CixinLiu) September 1, 2020
Netflix snapped up Benioff and Weiss last year on a lucrative deal to work on TV and film projects. It’s the first project they’re writing for Netflix, though it was previously announced that they’re producing a dramedy starring Sandra Oh for the streaming service.
The Three-Body Problem might be a bit more Weiss and Benioff’s tempo for a project they’re more deeply involved with. It’s not the first sci-fi project they’ve been attached to, as Disney previously tapped them to write a Star Wars trilogy before they backed out. In any case, here’s hoping they stick the landing this time around.