Game of Thrones' Benioff & Weiss Set First Netflix Series with Sci-Fi Epic The Three-Body Problem

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have set their first writing project at Netflix, and it's going to be a big one. On Tuesday, Netflix announced that Benioff and Weiss, along with The Terror: Infamy's Alexander Woo, will write and executive-produce an English-language series adaptation of Chinese author Liu Cixin's Hugo Award-winning sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem and its two sequels The Dark Forest and Death's End for the streaming service. The series tells the story of humanity's first contact with an alien civilization.

The Game of Thrones guys and Woo will be joined as executive producers by Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Knives Out director Rian Johnson and his producing partner Ram Bergman, Bernadette Caulfield, Nena Rodrigue, Lin Qi, Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, and Rosamund Pike and Robie Uniacke, whose company Primitive Streak specializes in prestige international literary property. Author Liu Cixin will serve as a consulting producer, as will Ken Liu, who wrote the English translations for The Three-Body Problem and Death's End. Netflix's press release does not indicate whether Johnson will direct. 

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

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"It's a privilege to be adapting one of the great masterpieces of Chinese science-fiction," said 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 have the greatest respect for and faith in the creative team adapting The Three-Body Problem for television audiences," said Liu Cixin. "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." 

An adaptation of a short story by Liu, The Wandering Earth, is the third highest-grossing Chinese film of all time. The author has voiced support for some of the Chinese government's most controversial policies, including the internment of Muslim Uighurs, though he says that his novels are not political. He is still a less controversial figure than Benioff and Weiss, who are resented by many Game of Thrones fans for the underwhelming final seasons of their megahit HBO show.  

Benioff and Weiss' first Netflix project was directing a stand-up special for Leslie Jones. They are also executive-producing a Sandra Oh-starring dramedy from creator Amanda Peet called The Chair.