It has been one of the great news in the industry and beware because curves are coming: David Benioff and DB Weiss prepare a series based on the Trilogy of the three bodies of Liu Cixin, also known as “Remembrance of the Earth’s past”.
An ambitious and fascinating trilogy composed of ‘The problem of the three bodies’, ‘The dark forest’ and ‘The end of death’ (all three published in Spain by Nova) whose adaptation promises to be Netflix’s new bombshell.
All if done right. Because the streaming platform is no stranger to great adaptations that promise be the new ‘Game of Thrones’ and whose result is, at least, regular. Yes, I’m talking about ‘The Witcher’ that, despite the noise and its following, has passed without pain or glory among the critics.
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Hard science fiction
And that ‘The Witcher’ is still a moderately complex sword and witchcraft that takes place in several timelines. It is quite simple compared to the work these screenwriters face.
Because this trilogy is science fiction hard, with a high concept that navigates in terms, theories and hypotheses of astrophysics, quantum physics and other scientific branches. Of course, between concept and concept we have a history that expands over millennia.
And attention, that the following paragraphs can be considered spoilers.
‘The problem of the three bodies’ starts in the Chinese Cultural Revolution and skips a year to follow the secret government project Red Coast. A project in search of extraterrestrial life in which Ye Wenjie, scientist daughter of a professor purged at that time, works.
Here the first extraterrestrial contact will take place: pointing towards Alpha Centauri you will find a planet inhabited in a trisolar system. Due to the instability caused by these three suns, their inhabitants have adapted (and dehydrated), developing during stable eras successive civilizations that disappear apocalyptically every so often. They have managed to develop high technology and, in addition, they are looking for a new place to live.
At present, Nanotechnology Professor Wang Miao is required by the police to investigate the death of several scientists. In the course of the investigation, he immerses himself in the mysterious virtual reality game Three Bodies, which challenges its players to propose a model that can predict the arrival of chaotic eras on a planet orbiting three suns.
Without getting too into spoilers, In ‘The Dark Forest’ we went on to live the tense wait in which the Trisolarian fleet travels the 4.21 light years that separates them from Earth while ‘The End of Death’ expands the place and role of humanity in a predatory universe.
More ‘Foundation’ than ‘Game of Thrones’
Thus, the trilogy puts humanity against the rope before the certainty of an alien invasion and the probable extinction of our species. Fifth columnists, escapist plans and scientific advances and technology are the fuel for ambitious and deeply humanistic concept books.
A work that, moreover, is profusely documented. Liu, an engineer by profession, does not skimp on detail when designing the various advancements. The author cites Arthur C. Clarke and George Orwell as some of his references and it is not difficult to see its echoes throughout the saga.
But to what Liu really aspired with this saga is to be a new Asimov. The proposal of the Chinese writer is not very different, at least on its sociological side, from what ‘Foundation’ exposes over thousands of pages. As the author states in the Netflix note:
“My intention was to tell a story that transcended time and the borders of nations, cultures and races, a story that would make us consider the destiny of humanity as a whole”
Now comes the challenge. As with the ‘Foundation’ that Apple TV + is preparing, Benioff and Weiss have the complex task of bringing a history spanning thousands of years (millions, even) with a cast that varies from novel to novel.
Add that to virguerias that they must do to introduce theories (and put them into practice) on dimensional folds, subatomic particles and other fairly advanced concepts to make them digestible for the audience without oversimplifying them.
Being still in a very early stage of development, we cannot venture anything. But the challenge facing the architects of one of the most important adaptations in the history of television is not trivial.. If they get it right, we may find ourselves in front of Netflix’s new must-have great bombshell. If not, something to remember will end up in oblivion.