The Three-Body Problem donghua series premiere date is on December 3, 2022.
The highly-anticipated Bilibili-produced The Three-Body Problem (三体) doghua (Chinese animation) series adaptation of Liu Cixin’s “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” Hugo Award-winning sci-fi trilogy has received a brand-new trailer PV.
Take a look:
Even though the trailer PV doesn’t reveal much, the doghua is garnering a lot of attention, so hopefully, Bilibili won’t let the fans of the seminal sci-fi trilogy down.
The trailer PV also reveals that The Three-Body Problem is a computer-animated doghua series.
Bilibili’s synopsis describes the series as:
“Countless thin lines stretch across the starry sky, just like a huge brush. The Three-Body Fleet will arrive in 400 years later. Butterflies from afar are flapping their wings, and have changed the fate of Luo Ji. The suddenly opened door leads to the center of the world — the Face Wall Project begins. Meanwhile, inside the Wall Breaking Room created by Zhi Zi, wall breakers are already in place.”
The Three-Body Problem donghua series timeline
As mentioned above, The Three-Body Problem is being produced by Bilibili. China’s eminent sci-fi company The Three-Body Universe (the rightsholder of the Three-Body IP) and the top animation studio YHKT Entertainment are co-producing the series.
The Three-Body Problem author, Liu Cixin, is excited. He has stated that animation is “the art of imagination,” just like science fiction. Since imagination is humanity’s “powerful force,” Cixin believes that his masterpiece will “really come alive” in this donghua adaptation.
Fans have similar expectations.
About the “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy
“The Three-Body Problem” is the first book of the “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy. The remaining two installments are “The Dark Forest” and “Death’s End.”
The first book of the series was published in China in 2008. Even before that date, the novel won the Chinese Science Fiction Yinhe (“Galaxy”) Award in 2006. Namely, it was originally serialized in “Science Fiction World,” from May to December 2006.
The original trilogy was published in China from May 2008 to November 2010.
“The Three-Body Problem” has managed to do what only exceptional works can: it has annulled cultural- and language barriers and brougth together science fiction fans from around the world.
Hayakawa Books has licensed the series in Japan.
Tor Books and Head of Zeus have licensed the novel in the USA and UK, respectively. Ken Liu’s English translation was published by Tor Books in 2014, six years after the book debuted in China. Afterward, the novel won two major international awards: a Hugo Award for Best Novel (2015) and a Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for Best Foreign Work (2017).
“The Three-Body Problem” is the first Asian novel ever to win a Hugo Best Novel Award, which is indicative in itself.
The book title refers to the three-body problem in orbital mechanics and the plot focuses on a fictional timeline where Earthlings encounter an alien civilization in a nearby star system.
The Three-Body Problem TV series: one Chinese and one English adaptation are underway
An American TV series based on The Three-Body Problem novel by Netflix is underway. David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo are executive producers for the series, which will premiere in 2023. No official premiere date has been announced yet.
Liu Cixin has joined the Netflix team as a consulting producer alongside translator Ken Liu (see above). The production team has stated that having Cixin and Ken on board ensures that “the spirit of the books” will remain intact.
Another TV adaptation of The Three-Body Problem is underway, this time in China. Produced by Tencent Video, the film is being directed by Fanfan Zhang and stars Feng Shaofeng and Zhang Jingchu. According to multiple Chinese sources, the shooting has been finalized but, for some mysterious reason, the movie hasn’t been released yet. Stay tuned, I guess?