It read: “Buck up - you better not lose to Netflix’s nonsense version.” It was outranked by the top comment, liked 27,000 times. These things are very hard for foreigners to express - only we are able to do it,” wrote one popular comment in response to Tencent’s Weibo recent post about the new trailer. “‘Three-Body’ is a story full of Chinese elements told by we Chinese from our Chinese perspective and ways of thinking …to express Chinese people’s values, worldview and view of the universe. The inclusion of so many foreign cast members has led many to express concern that the story will no longer be set primarily in the Middle Kingdom, potentially shearing the tale of its cultural and historical specificities. The original novel is set almost entirely in China and follows mostly Chinese characters at a period when foreigners were a rarity in the country.

The casting choices have led to some backlash among Chinese fans, who are upset there aren’t more Chinese faces.

The streamer recently announced 12 cast members, about a third of whom are of Asian descent. The American version is being co-created by “Game of Thrones” big shots David Benioff and Dan Weiss alongside Alexander Woo (“True Blood”), and will be directed by Hong Kong’s Derek Tsang (“Better Days”). Netflix struck its own deal with Yoozoo to create an English-language adaptation, announcing the project last September. There are at least two other “Three-Body Problem” adaptations in the works in China, including a film backed by IP rights holder Yoozoo Group that may have fallen permanently to the wayside and an animated take from Gen Z- and anime-leaning platform Bilibili. Now, its version is entering a crowded playing field. Tencent nabbed the rights to adapt the story into a TV series way back in 2008. In a final line, a woman’s voice says: “This is the end of humanity.” ‘Netflix’s Nonsense Version’ “But isn’t that the case for most people?” the second voice asks, and the first responds, to a backdrop of ominous music with deep foghorn-type blasts that would feel at home on the “Tenet” soundtrack: “Then most people’s lives are all accidents.”

“Then your life is a sort of accident,” the first continues. “Have significant accidents ever happened to you in your life?” one asks. The new Tencent trailer opens with an exchange between two off-screen male voices.

The three body problem 2016