New teaser for Netflix’s 3 Body Problem series will make you want to play the game

It remains to be seen just how much of the fascinating, winding complexity of Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem ends up making it into Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of the novel from co-creators Alexander Woo, D.B. Weiss, and David Benioff. But in a new clip from the show that’s just dropped as part of Netflix’s Geeked Week showcase, it looks like 3 Body Problem (that’s how Netflix is spelling it) is going to get one of its most important worldbuilding elements very right in a way that makes the story’s deeper mystery interesting to watch unfold.

While the new teaser clip debuted during Geeked Week doesn’t really broach the way 3 Body Problem’s story delves into China’s past and what becomes of humanity at one of the most pivotal moments in modern history, it does establish one of the meanings of its title. 

In Liu’s book, Three-Body is an immersive virtual reality game that transports players to lifelike recreations of different moments from the distant past. Neither Jack Rooney (John Bradley) nor Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) seem to know much about the strange, metallic headset in their possession in 3 Body Problem’s new clip beyond the fact that it looks nothing like any other gaming rigs on the market.

But when Jack slides the thing onto his head, he witnesses firsthand how the experience feels as if he’s been physically transported to an impossible place that shouldn’t feel so real. It’s all so mesmerizing that Jack barely has time to understand what’s happening when an unknown woman (Sea Shimooka) pops up and kicks him out by slicing him with a sword. And while the trailer doesn’t provide much more than that, readers of Liu’s novels should have a solid sense of what’s going on.

The uncanny addictiveness that comes with playing Three-Body is just one aspect of the larger puzzle being pieced together in Liu’s books, and it seems like Netflix’s 3 Body Problem might be poised to nail that part of its adaptation. It’s a good sign that when 3 Body Problem hits Netflix on March 21st, it’ll be something worth digging all the way into.