However Game Of Thrones' David Benioff and DB Weiss I know a thing or two about adapting much-loved novels for the screen, their new seriescreated with Alexander Woo, presented new challenges. those of Netflix 3 Body Problem is inspired by the award-winning book by Liu Cixin The three body problemas well as – by necessity – the other books of his Memory of the EarthThe past trilogy of .
“The guiding principle was to keep the spirit of the novels,” Woo told io9 during a roundtable interview for the series, explaining how the show's creators decided what to keep and what to change by relation to the source material. “Do you want the same sense of awe and wonder that you get from reading the novels to carry over to the series? However, this is a completely different medium – and when you do that, changes need to be made. One of the first is that we all have, through our collective experiences, the firm conviction that what propels you, from episode to episode then from season to season, is the characters. You can have as many thrills as you want on screen, but it won't make any sense if you don't care about the people experiencing them.
He continued. “So that led to the decision to remove some of the main characters from books two or three in season one – and have them have relationships with each other, have them get to know each other, have them cross paths, cause them to be in conflict or conflict. love each other. This was the origin of (the central characters known as) the Oxford Five. And once that's set up, we need to flesh out these characters in a way that makes them fit for that situation. It took maybe two years, but that's how this core group was born.
Woo mentioned Liu's other books in his trilogy in his answer – and it's no spoiler to say that the Netflix series leaves the door open for more. So far, only one season has been confirmed. But could there be more?
“We would love to see it through,” Benioff said when asked about the group's best-case scenario for the show's future. “There are obviously three books in the trilogy. And the ending is incredibly beautiful. I think that last page is probably my favorite last page of any science fiction book I've read. It's this surprising final image because it takes you to the end of time, to the end of the universe, and in this incredible, breathtaking cosmic way, it sums it all up in a very emotional and human way. And it's unexpected. I still remember exactly where I was when I read that last page, and that's when (Weiss and I) decided, and Alex came along a little later: This is the show what we want to do. So the hope, the happy ending for us would be that we can tell the whole story – whether it's three or four seasons, we don't know exactly yet. It would take at least three seasons.
3 Body Problem arrives March 21 on Netflix.
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