Two-time United States (US) President Barack Obama was offered a cameo in “3 Body Problem,” the highly anticipated Netflix series from the creators of “Game of Thrones” – David Benioff and DB Weiss.
However, the former president turned down the offer to appear in “3 Body Problem,” which revolves around an alien invasion of Earth, in the best kind of way.
When David Benioff and DB Weiss were first interested in adapting the Hugo Award-winning “The Three-Body Problem” by Chinese writer Liu Cixin, they were thrilled to find out that Barack Obama was a major fan
“He [Obama] did sign a very funny note, when we tried to get him for a cameo. It was to the effect of, ‘In case there ever is a real alien invasion, I think I should probably save myself for that crisis,’” Benioff said while speaking to an international media outlet.
“He wants to keep his powder dry in case there’s a real thing,” adds Weiss.
This is the biggest project from Benioff and Weiss since Game of Thrones finished after eight seasons in 2019. 3 Body Problem – which is set to release on March 21st on Netflix – follows five earthbound characters trying to defend the planet from invading aliens.
Liu Cixi’s novel has sold nine million copies since publication in 2008 and won a Hugo award.
In an interview with the BBC, Weiss shared that he and Benioff had been enthralled by the book’s complexity, calling it “unlike anything we’d ever read, certainly unlike anything we’d ever contemplated bringing to the screen.” It was also “about as far away as you can get from what we’d just done on Thrones.”
Netflix dropped the final trailer on March 7 showing a cast that includes “Game of Thrones” alumni Liam Cunningham, John Bradley and Jonathan Pryce. Bradley plays one of a group of young, brilliant physicists (along with Eiza González, Jovan Adepo, Alex Sharp and Jess Hong) who are targeted by the incoming aliens.
The pair worked alongside Alexander Woo (who previously created True Blood) and cast includes John Bradley, Benedict Wong, Liam Cunningham, Jonathan Pryce, Rosalind Chao, Jess Hong, Zene Tseng, Eiza González and Marlo Kelly.
With the novel the first of a trilogy, Weiss and Benioff could be looking at another decade of work. Benioff told the BBC: “I hope it’s as big as Thrones. Our goal really is to get to the third season.”
