After two series, The Three-Body Problem will be adapted for the cinema

Zhang Yimou will once again draw inspiration from Liu Cixin’s sci-fi bestsellers for a film shot in Chinese.

Over the course of his long career, Zhang Yimou has multiplied the historical frescoes (The Forbidden City, The Secret of the Flying Daggers, Sacrifices of War…) and adaptations of imposing novels (Wives and concubines, Live!…). The thousands of pages of Three-body problem, by Liu Cixin, should therefore not frighten the 72-year-old filmmaker, who has just committed to directing a new adaptation. Intended for the cinema, this time.

Should you try to solve The Three-Body Problem on Netflix? (critical)

The Hollywood Reporter details that after having inspired a Chinese series (on Peacock) and the international one recently broadcast on Netflix (and which should have two new seasons to fully respect the entire story), a film inspired by Three-body problem has just been announced during the Shanghai International Film Festival. Enlight Media is at the very beginning of the project, so no actor names have been leaked at the moment, but this feature film will be developed with Yoozoo Pictures, the company which holds the rights to Liu Cixin’s books, published since 2014.

The article recalls that since the sale of the first volume ten years ago, a Chinese film project had been under study. Directed by Fanfan Zhang for Amazon, it should have been released in 2017, but was ultimately never shown. A first series was broadcast in 2023, from the same country, then the showrunners of Game Of Thrones seized on the phenomenon to design the Netflix sci-fi show, which broke audience records in early 2024.

Here is his pitch, followed by his trailer:

“A decision made by a young woman in China in the 1960s has space-time repercussions well into the present. When the laws of nature inexplicably crumble before the eyes of a tight-knit group of brilliant scientists, they join forces to those of an inflexible inspector to confront the greatest threat in the history of humanity.”

Phew! The Three-Body Problem will have a season 2 (and an ending)