https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mogSbMD6EcY
The Three-Body Problem, an international hit sci-fi book by world-renowned author Liu Cixin is being adapted into a Netflix TV show. With nearly 30 million copies sold, the book trilogy’s die-hard fans are excited to see how the TV series adaptation will pan out.
Yet, fans remain skeptical. The duo behind the slow, painful descent into mediocrity and critically panned ending of the much-beloved show, Game of Thrones has cast doubt on the success of this new adaptation.
Chinese vs American Adaption
In addition to their tarnished reputation, the infamous duo may be facing another hurdle on their hands, as they’ll be compared to an already successful Chinese adaptation from Tencent. With a Boudan score of 8.7/10, Tencent’s adaptation seems hard to beat.
It seems almost impossible for the series to not ignite a political discussion about how America and China view themselves on the global stage. Top Gun: Maverick vs Born to Fly comes to mind.
It doesn’t help that Netflix’s adaptation displays a far more Western cast, alongside a seeming barrel of constant expletives thrown at you through the screen. Chinese viewers may find this to be in poor taste and unfaithful to the spirit of the original.
What Chinese viewers may like though, is a more fleshed-out adaptation of plot points in the book involving The Cultural Revolution, which the Chinese TV series adaptation has cut down on due to government censorship.
Completed Source Material
For those who may still be reeling from the disappointment of the Game of Thrones final season, there may be hope that this won’t turn out the same way due to one critical reason.
Source material.
While George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series was (and remains) uncompleted at the time of the production of the Game of Thrones show, Cixin Liu’s book trilogy has already been completed since 2010.
There will be no shortage of source material to pull from, a lack of which contributed to the declining quality of Game of Thrones. However, it seems that the two producers are taking liberties with the source material and are not aiming for a faithful adaptation.
Will David Benioff and D.B. Weiss regain the trust of the critical public or will another well-loved book series fall into a long string of disappointments?
Only time will tell.
Image—GQ Magazine
