Zhang Yimou has been roped in to direct a Chinese language adaptation of Liu Cixin's novel 'Three-Body Problem'. Cultural Development, which holds the copyrights to the novel, confirmed the news. It comes shortly after the announcement of the project by Wang Changtian, the founder cum CEO of Enlight Media, the studio that is backing it.

"We hope that director Zhang Yimou can grasp the essence of the ‘Three-Body Problem’ novel and make some breakthroughs and innovations, and gain something in the international market," stated Wang.

A longtime creative consultant for Enlight Media, Zhang has shot many films for the Beijing-based studio.

Three-Body Problem is one of the books by Liu Cixin that come in a trilogy. In it, humanity faces an alien invasion from a three-sun system after a scientist disillusioned with humanity invites them to Earth. It has already been adapted in China as a radio drama, live-action series, and animation series. Further, Netflix distributed an English series adaptation titled 3-Body Problem earlier this year.

Zhang is known for spectacle-oriented Chinese films, such as Hero, Full River Red, and House of Flying Daggers. The Three-Body Problem film adaptation will mark his foray into Sci-Fi cinema.