David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to Adapt ‘The Three-Body Problem’ at Netflix

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have set their next project. Netflix has announced that the duo will be adapting international best-seller The Three-Body Problem as an original series. Benioff and Weiss will serve as writers and executive producers alongside Alexander Woo, best known for his work on The Terror: Infamy and HBO’s True Blood.

Written by Chinese author Liu Cixin, The Three-Body Problem trilogy (also known as Remembrance of Earth’s Past) tells the story of humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization. In a blog post, Netflix VP of Original Series Peter Friedlander praised the novels and explained why they are a perfect fit for the company brand. “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,” wrote Friedlander. “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.”

The English-language series will be led by the experienced team of Benioff & Weiss and Woo, and they will be supported by an all-star behind-the-scenes crew. Oscar nominee Rian Johnson and producing partner Ram Bergman (Looper, Knives Out, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi) will serve as executive producers, and Cixin will serve as a consulting producer alongside Ken Liu, who wrote the English translation of the novels.

Other executive producers on The Three-Body Problem series include Bernadette Caulfield, president of Benioff & Weiss’ production company; Nena Rodriguez, President of Television for Johnson and Bergman’s T-Street banner; Lin Qui, chairman of the rights-holders – Yoozoo Group and The Three-Body Universe, and Zhao Jilong, Vice President of The Three-Body Universe; Plan B Entertainment; and Rosamund Pike and Robin Uniacke’s company Primitive Streak.

“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,” said Benioff and Weiss in a statement. “We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”

“It’s a privilege to be adapting one of the great masterpieces of Chinese science-fiction,” added Woo. “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.”