The Big Picture
- The
3 Body Problem
creators have plans mapped out for multiple seasons based on the book trilogy by author Cixin Liu. - Seasons 1 and 2 will mirror the arcs of the first two volumes of the books.
- David Benioff, DB Weiss and Alexander Woo anticipate needing at least 3-4 seasons to tell the whole story, with a beautiful ending ripped straight from the pages of the last novel.
The premiere of Netflix’s next sci-fi series 3 Body Problem is just around the corner, and series creators DB Weiss, David Benioff (the Game of Thrones duo) and Alexander Woo (True Blood) stopped by SXSW to talk a little bit about the project with Collider. During the conversation, the trio revealed to our Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub that they are much farther along in terms of what they envision for the future of the series, with an outline for future seasons already mapped out.
In the interview, Benioff commented that the idea is for Seasons 1 and 2 to pretty much follow the arcs from the first two volumes of Cixin Liu’s trilogy of books that inspired the show. This prompted Weintraub to ask them how quickly they’d get to work on Season 2 if Netflix announced that the show was renewed, which spawned Woo’s surprising answer: “We’re doing it now.” Weiss expanded on his co-creator’s answer:
“For Season 2, we’ve got better than a rough idea. We’re much farther along with that plan than rough idea stages. From there on out it becomes, you know, the farther away things get the hazier your view of them is. But there, in the third book, there’s so many amazing landmarks, in terms of scenes and situations and events that we can see pretty clearly, that we know, we’re not completely sure how our characters are gonna get to that place, but we know they gotta get to that place. Because that place and that place and that place are the reason we pick these books up and wanted to adapt them in the first place.”
How Many Seasons Will ‘3 Body Problem’ Have?
The trio also talked about how many seasons they would need to conclude the story. After talking about the arcs for Seasons 1 and 2, Benioff revealed that they’d probably need a different approach for the third novel in the series. He said “The third book is massive. It’s twice as long, I think, as the other two books. So maybe that’s one season, maybe it’s two. But, you know, I think we’d need at least three, maybe four seasons to tell the whole story.”
Additionally, Benioff teased that the ending of the trilogy is “beautiful,” and that “the last page of Cixin Liu’s epic was maybe the best final image we’d encountered in a sci-fi saga like this. It’s just incredibly moving and mind-blowing.” Because of that, the trio is “desperate” to get to the end and put that image on the screen. But, of course, that fully depends on Netflix wanting to take the project as far as Season 3 or 4.
Last but not least, the trio revealed that, if the wheels keep turning at the expected – or desired – pace, they’ll have enough material to start shooting an eventual Season 2 as early as this Fall. At the same time, Weiss admitted that 3 Body Problem is “a very labor-intensive show and it doesn’t get less labor-intensive. It doesn’t get easier to make, it gets harder to make.” So they’d really need to take their time and do one season at a time, as opposed to getting a multiple-season renewal. Weiss capped it off by stating they “wouldn’t say no” if they got this Avatar-like renewal, but:
“We understand— I think, it’s hard to see eight episodes of something you like and then have it disappear for a long period of time. But it’s really kind of, the only way we can imagine doing it is one Season at a time.”
Netflix premieres 3 Body Problem on March 21. Stay tuned to Collider for the full interview with Benioff, Weiss and Woo.
3 Body Problem
A fateful decision made in 1960s China reverberates in the present, where a group of scientists partner with a detective to confront an existential planetary threat.
Release Date 2023-00-00
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Seasons 1
Streaming Service(s) Netflix
Showrunner David Benioff , D.B. Weiss , Alexander Woo
Watch on Netflix
