David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, fresh off of their involvement as screenwriters for Game of Thrones, and The Terror: Infamy showrunner Alexander Woo will adapt Liu Cixin’s Hugo-winning sci-fi novels. Netflix has given a series order to the project, which also counts Rian Johnson (Knives Out), Rosamund Pike and Brad Pitt’s Plan B among its executive producers. (Rosamund Pike is soon to star in Amazon’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s fantasy The Wheel of Time.)
Cixin and Ken Liu (no relation to Cixin), who wrote the English-language translation to the first and third novels, will be consulting producers.
“David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo have experience tackling ambitious sagas over time and space,” said Peter Friedlander, vp original series at Netflix. “Rian Johnson and [partner] Ram Bergman have long dazzled fans with thrilling and mind-bending epics. They are all fierce advocates of The Three-Body Problem. As ardent fans, it was especially meaningful to us to get the support of Liu Cixin who created this expansive universe. We all share the same goal: to pay homage to this incredible story and take members on the adventure of a lifetime.”
The Three-Body Problem trilogy tells the story of humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization.
“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. “We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”
In a press release, the author had much to say on the project and its team:
“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.”
There is no word on when the series will go into production, or casting as of yet, but if you’d like more information on The Three-Body Problem, check out this excerpt from TOR Books.
Liu Cixin is a Chinese science fiction writer. He is a nine-time winner of the Galaxy Award (China’s most prestigious literary science fiction award), winner of the 2015 Hugo Award (for The Three-Body Problem) and the 2017 Locus Award (for Death’s End) as well as a nominee for the Nebula Award (for The Three-Body Problem).
Editor’s Note: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were the subject of a petition to remove them as writers for Game of Thrones and redo the final season in a way that made sense. The petition amassed 1.5 million signatures. Richard Roeper, writing for the Chicago Sun Times, described that the backlash to the eighth season was so great that in his 25+ years of reviewing movies and television, he doubts that he has “ever seen the level of fan (and to a lesser degree, critical) vitriol leveled at” Game of Thrones.
-30-
David Raiklen wrote, directed and scored his first film at age 9. He began studying keyboard and composing at age 5. He attended, then taught at UCLA, USC and CalArts. Among his teachers are John Williams and Mel Powel.
He has worked for Fox, Disney and Sprint. David has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2004 American Music Center Award. Dr. Raiklen has composed music and sound design for theater (Death and the Maiden), dance (Russian Ballet), television (Sing Me a Story), cell phone (Spacey Movie), museums (Museum of Tolerance), concert (Violin Sonata ), and film (Appalachian Trail).
His compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the first Disney Hall. David Raiken is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club.
