Posted in: Movies, News | Tagged: 5th Generation New Wave, Article 20, Chinese cinema, Feature Film, Full River Red, Liu Cixin, science fiction, three-body problem, Under the Light, zhang yimou

Three-Body Problem: Zhang Yimou to Direct Chinese Movie Adaptation

The Three-Body Problem, the Liu Cixin Science Fiction novel, will be getting a new feature film adaptation by the acclaimed Zhang Yimou

The Three-Body Problem is getting a new Chinese feature film adaptation to be directed by Zhang Yimou, one of China's most respected and internationally acclaimed filmmakers. This will be the second attempt at a feature film of Liu Cixin's best-selling science fiction novel, but this time by arguably China's most revered living filmmaker. The announcement came on Sunday during a forum at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

According to THR, Wang Changtian, chairman of leading local studio Beijing Enlight Media, said his company was in the early stages of developing the project. Three-Body Universe Cultural Development Co., a subsidiary of Yoozoo Pictures and the copyright holder for the book and related media, also confirmed the project was now in active development.

Unsurprisingly, the announcement blew up on Chinese social media on Monday morning. The Three-Body Problem, the first book in Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, has seen several adaptations across different media since its release in 2014. A previously attempted adaptation of the book directed by Zhang Fanfan was never completed due to rumors of budgetary limitations and inadequate CGI FX. A 30-episode Chinese TV adaptation by Tencent, titled Three-Body, premiered in 2023, and is streaming worldwide on Tencent's official YouTube Channel. In the West, the best-known adaptation is Netflix's big-budget take, restyled as 3 Body Problem, which premiered in 2024 under Alexander Woo and Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. It has also spawned a widely-panned CGI animated adaptation, a stage play, and a graphic novel adaptation.

3 Body Problem is considered a global hit, and Netflix has renewed it for a second and third season to complete the showrunners' vision of the book's full story. In China, however, reaction to the Netflix version has been mixed, with social media criticisms complaining about the show's diverse, mostly non-Chinese key cast and accusing the series of painting China in a negative light, considering the only depiction of the country was in the brutal opening scene set in the Cultural Revolution, a scene adapted directly from the opening of the English translation of the book. That scene was moved to the middle of the original Chinese edition of the novel. A Chinese state media editorial attacked the Netflix series as "American cultural hegemony." Many viewers in China, who could only have watched it through piracy since Netflix is blocked there, also liked the show, recognising a Hollywood studio's need to adapt it for an American and Western audience. The Three Body Problem media property has also seen a real-life crime drama behind the scenes when a disgruntled executive poisoned several colleagues and murdered his boss, Yoozoo's founder and CEO, Lin Qi, who was in charge of spearheading many of the book's screen adaptations, including the Netflix version.

Zhang Yimou has considered a safe pair of hands for adapting The Three-Body Problem. He is a key member of Chinese's Fifth Generation New Wave of Filmmakers that emerged in the 1980s, best known for ‎Raise the Red Lantern, ‎Red Sorghum, To Live, Hero, and House of the Flying Daggers, all visual extravaganzas with his painterly eye for colour and composition. He also directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, one of the most extravagant Olympic openings in recent history.

Zhang Yimou's films are now usually released in China for Chinese New Year, the biggest box office season in China every year, and have been consistent hits. 2023's medieval comedy-thriller Full River Red, the late 2023 contemporary crime drama Under the Light, and 2024's social issue-driven comedy-drama Article 20 have earned a total of US$1.15 billion at the Chinese box office in just twelve months. His adaptation of The Three-Body Problem, his first Science Fiction film, will likely get the holiday release window. One thing is certain: Zhang's film adaptation will be the best-looking and, fans hope, the definitive version of the book's many adaptations. Now, the real challenge is adapting the second and third books, which both Netflix and Tencent are already working on for Western and Chinese television audiences, respectively.

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