Netflix's 3 Body Problem is a science fiction feat and a colossal story that can be hard to wrap your head around. Created by Alexander Woo and former Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the eight-episode epic is based on Cixin Liu’s Hugo Award-winning Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy, which spans five continents and several centuries, from 1960s China to 400 years in the future. In the present day, scientists around the world are baffled as the laws of nature begin to unravel, coinciding with a series of mysterious deaths. A group of brilliant physicists called the "Oxford Five" are soon pulled into the fray and discover that one woman's decision decades ago could lead to the demise of the entire planet. (Long story short: Aliens are on their way to Earth, and humans have 400 years to prepare for an extraterrestrial war.)
With 3 Body Problem season 1 ending on an existential cliffhanger (give or take four centuries), there are seemingly endless possibilities where this inventive series could go next. Below, we've gathered every detail about 3 Body Problem season 2 so far.
Has '3 Body Problem' been renewed for Season 2?
Yes! Netflix announced a renewal for the epic sci-fi series on May 15, 2024, less than two months after its premiere in March 2024. The streamer also expressed their commitment to producing the series through to the source novels' conclusion. The news is a welcome note for anyone previously burned by early Netflix cancellations. (We're still not over Teenage Bounty Hunters.)
“We’re thrilled that we get to tell this story through to its epic conclusion,” showrunners Benioff, Weiss, and Woo said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Ever since we read the last page of Cixin Liu’s magnificent trilogy, we hoped we’d be able to bring the audience to the end of the universe with us. Here we go!”
Though the streamer gave positive news regarding the series' future, Netflix did not specify how many episodes will be included in season 2, nor did it reveal how many seasons the series would run. The team behind the show may decide to get creative with its release schedule, breaking up future series into parts as it has done with some of its other franchises (including Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and other series). Regardless, we'll look out for additional news as it's announced.
When would '3 Body Problem' season 2 come out?
The length of a Netflix show's hiatus can be hard to predict, but in a March 2024 interview with Collider, Benioff, Weiss, and Woo revealed that they had already started working on season 2. The showrunners explained that the first two seasons of 3BP will follow the arcs of the first two novels of the trilogy, and they added that filming for season 2 could start as early as this fall.
"For season 2, we’ve got better than a rough idea. We’re much farther along with that plan than rough idea stages," Weiss said.
Even if that fall filming schedule holds up, post-production could take some time, considering how VFX-heavy this series is. We'd guess that the earliest we could see 3 Body Problem season 2 is spring 2026.
Which of the cast would return for '3 Body Problem' season 2?
Most of the main cast of 3 Body Problem is expected to return in season 2, including Jovan Adepo (Saul Durand), Eiza González (Auggie Salazar), Jess Hong (Jin Cheng), Saamer Usmani (Raj Varma), Benedict Wong (Clarence “Da” Shi), Liam Cunningham (Thomas Wade), Marlo Kelly (Tatiana Haas), and Sea Shimooka (Sophon).
The return of the '60s era cast (Zine Tseng as young Ye Wenjie and Ben Schnetzer as young Mike Evans) will depend on whether the show plans on more flashbacks to show how the San-Ti gathered so many human followers. Some faces we know we likely won't see outside of flashback: Alex Sharp (Will Downing), John Bradley (Jack Rooney), Rosalind Chao (Ye Wenjie), and Jonathan Pryce (Mike Evans).
What would happen in '3 Body Problem' season 2?
After season 1 pretty much followed the arc of the eponymous first novel of the trilogy, season 2 is set to adapt the second novel, The Dark Forest. The Dark Forest picks up around where season 1 leaves off, as the UN institutes the Wallfacer Project to strategize against the Trisolarians (the alien race called the San-Ti in the television series). The Wallfacers are tasked with holding their true plans only in their heads, as the one advantage humans have against the aliens is that we can lie and obscure our intentions, while the aliens can only communicate their true thoughts. In response, the extraterrestrials choose some select human allies to work against the Wallfacers, with the help of all the intel collected by the sophons, which can spy on every corner of the earth (except reading human minds). Throughout the centuries (yes, there is a time jump) of preparation for the aliens' arrival, Luo Ji (a.k.a. Saul Durand in the show) takes the lead as a reluctant Wallfacer who eventually becomes integral to the conflict.
There are also several show characters whose futures are left open-ended. The San-Ti's ally and assassin, Tatiana, will remain a major threat after the aliens send her a new headset in the season 1 finale. Also, though Project Staircase failed, Jin and Will (or Will's frozen brain) can still play a big role in the coming seasons, especially if Will's capsule is ever picked up by the San-Ti despite going off course. Even Auggie could pop back up, though as of the end of season 1, she was content using her nanofiber technology to help others, particularly filtering drinking water in a Mexican village.
One thing we know: With season 2 sticking close to the source material, viewers will have a multi-season wait to see the San-Ti in the flesh (or whatever their bodies are made of) when they finally arrive on Earth.
How many seasons could '3 Body Problem' have?
In their March interview with Collider, the series' creators spoke about how they would approach filming the final book of the trilogy, Death's End. The trio admitted that they are considering splitting the third book into two TV seasons for a pragmatic reason: Death's End clocks in at 605 pages, compared to The Three-Body Problem's 400-page length.
“The third book is massive. It’s twice as long, I think, as the other two books,” Benioff said. “So maybe that’s one season, maybe it’s two. But, you know, I think we’d need at least three, maybe four seasons to tell the whole story.”
