It’s fair to say that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are poised for a comeback, as the trailer for their next project boasts a slew of intriguing ideas and some pretty mammoth visuals.
The frustratingly unhyphenated 3 Body Problem seems to focus on an astrophysicist who works at a remote radar base somewhere in China. Meanwhile, a foreboding voiceover suggests that humans shy away from the dark as children because we’re all afraid of the unknown. Then, someone pops on a virtual reality helmet and a host of crazy stuff starts happening, like zero-gravity antics and lava-walking. Your guess is as good as ours at where this is all headed, so check out the trailer below:
The series is based on the more grammatically correct Three-Body Problem, a novel by Liu Cixin. (Seriously, 3 Body Problem means your body has three problems at once, which everyone over the age of 30 should understand quite well.) The book synopsis explains the VR helmet as an entry to Three Body, a game in which players must help an alien race understand the nature of their world using the scientific method. We’ll stick with Zelda, but that sounds cool, too.
The cast of 3 Body Problem includes Saamer Usamani, Jess Hong, Jovan Adepo, and Marvel rockstar Benedict Wong. It also welcomes back Game of Thrones alumn John Bradley and Liam Cunningham.
This is a big one for Benioff and Weiss. Not only does it appear to be just as ambitious a narrative as Game of Thrones, but viewers likely will use it as a litmus test on whether the producers are reliable at making good TV — or just seemed like it because Thrones‘ story was strong enough to keep them afloat during the first few seasons.
We’re reserving judgement because, hey, you try writing a show based on a fantasy series that seems to be almost complete, only to realize with horror that you’re blowing past the writer’s own progress and must plan the last few seasons based on his notes and whatever the network thinks is trendy right now.
For anyone curious, the novel Three-Body Problem has two sequels: The Dark Forest and Death’s End. It’s okay, though — they’re already published.
3 Body Problem premieres some time in Jan. 2024.
Published: Jun 17, 2023 06:37 pm