‘Game of Thrones’ Producers Pick Up Chinese Author’s Hugo-Award Winning Sci-Fi Trilogy for Netflix

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who both worked on the HBO’s adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones,” are set to co-write as well as act as serve as executive producers for the Netflix series, reported CNN.

“Liu Cixin’s trilogy is the most ambitious science-fiction series we’ve read, taking readers on a journey from the 1960s until the end of time, from life on our pale blue dot to the distant fringes of the universe,” Benioff and Weiss said in a joint Netflix statement on Tuesday. “We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”

The Netflix adaptation of “The Three-Body Problem” boasts a star-studded list of producers, including Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Knives Out) and Alexander Woo, who wrote for “True Blood.”

Peter Friedlander, the vice president of Netflix’s original series drama team, described the book as “singular, special – and eminently relatable.”

“The first time I read The Three-Body Problem trilogy (Remembrance of Earth’s Past), it changed what science fiction meant to me forever,” he said.

Cixin and Ken Liu, who both translated the books into English in 2014, will both act as consulting producers on the show to “help ensure that the spirit of the books remains intact.”

“I have the greatest respect for and faith in the creative team adapting The Three-Body Problem for television audiences,” Cixin said.

He added the story he created transcends and evokes consideration of the future.

“Time and the confines of nations, cultures and races; one that compels us to consider the fate of humankind as a whole,” he said. “It is a great honor as an author to see this unique sci-fi concept travel and gain fandom across the globe and I am excited for new and existing fans all over the world to discover the story on Netflix.”

Chinese companies and franchise rights holders Yoozoo Group and The Three-Body Universe are also on board as executive producers of the show.

“The Three-Body Problem,” the first in the “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy, takes place in an alternative Chinese history where an alien civilization on the brink of destruction invades Earth, according to the synopsis on major book recommendations site Goodreads. The book received a rating of 4.06 out of 5 stars.

The series won the Galaxy Award in China, which is the country’s most prestigious science fiction prize, in 2006. It also received high praise from “Game of Thrones” creator and writer George R. R. Martin and former U.S. President Barrack Obama.

Feature Image (left) via Cixin Liu, (right) CGTN