Zhang Yimou Teases Chinese ‘Three-Body Problem’ Movie at Busan Film Festival’s Star-Packed Opening

Zhang Yimou gave a surprise update on his long-gestating film adaptation of Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem on Tuesday at the Busan International Film Festival’s glitzy opening ceremony. The celebrated Chinese auteur, who is serving as president of Busan’s main competition jury this year, said he has spent years polishing the screenplay for the project — and even enlisted his team to collect some 400,000 online fan comments to help him shape his approach to the adaptation. “The Three-Body Problem is a great work of science fiction, but it’s hard to photograph, so we spent several years polishing the script. Hopefully this film will live up to everyone’s expectations and satisfy the audience,” he said from the stage of the Busan Cinema Center. Zhang’s plans to direct a fresh adaptation of China’s most celebrated work of sci-fi were first announced at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2024, but little had been revealed about the project in the years since. Zhang’s undertaking is completely separate from Netflix’s high-profile English-language series 3 Body Problem, created by Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss alongside Alexander Woo, which debuted on Netflix in March 2024. The film from Zhang, his country’s most esteemed auteur — known for everything from the gritty realism of his early career to grandly staged epics like Hero and House of Flying Daggers — will give the material a new homegrown Chinese cinematic treatment. “When I first found out I was going to direct Three Body, I had the company collect a large amount of data — approximately 400,000 online comments from fans about their hopes for the film. I know everyone has a lot of worries. I will sincerely study the hopes and demands of the audience and hopefully make a good movie,” Zhang added. Held outdoors at the Busan Cinema Center on a clear, crisp autumn evening, the festival ceremony was hosted by Korean actress Kim Min-ha, best known internationally for Pachinko and also starring in Busan’s opening film, The Table: Day and Night. The red carpet brought together a cross-section of international filmmakers and stars, including Alfonso Cuarón and his filmmaker son Jonás; Lee Chang-dong and the four stars of his Netflix-backed Oscar contender Possible Love — Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong; and Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Koreeda with the cast of his acclaimed Venice premiere Look Back. Korean screen heavyweights Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung, fresh off the conclusion of their Disney+ thriller Made in Korea, also attended, alongside Chinese star Fan Bingbing, French actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg and Hope director Na Hong-jin. (L-R) Zo In-sung, Cho Yeo-jeong, Sul Kyung-gu, Jeon Do-yeon and film director Lee Chang-dong arrive on the Busan red carpet in support of Possible Love. Looking ahead to his jury duties, Zhang said he was honored to serve on a majority-female jury, noting the rarity of such demographics at the world’s leading cinema events. Joining him on the seven-member panel are Chinese auteur Bi Gan, Korean actor Moon Choi, Japanese director Kei Ishikawa, Korean filmmaker July Jung, Vietnamese producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc and Kazakh actor Samal Yeslyamova, a Cannes best actress winner for Ayka (2018). He also praised the recent creative example set by his Korean counterparts. “Korean cinema has been truly remarkable in recent years. This has attracted attention in Asia and around the world. There are many things we can learn from this,” Zhang added. “Asian cinema should have this stage and not just be confined to Asia — it should have a wide-ranging global impact.” ‘Made in Korea’ stars Woo Do-hwan, Jung Woo-sung and Hyun Bin also walked the Busan carpet for Disney+. Other meaningful moments in Busan Tuesday night included the honoring of two trailblazing women of Hong Kong cinema’s golden age. Michelle Yeoh, returning to the festival for the first time in 15 years, received Busan’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year award. As the festival noted in an introductory montage, the Malaysian star’s career has spanned Hong Kong action cinema, the international breakthrough of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and an Oscar-winning performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. “No one does this alone,” Yeoh said, emphasizing the collaborators behind her career — including one in the audience. She then paid a personal tribute to Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui, the night’s recipient of Busan’s Camellia Award, an honor established by the festival in partnership with Chanel to recognize contributions in advancing the standing of women in the film industry. Yeoh previously worked with Hui on The Stunt Woman (1996), lending an emotional note to her remarks. “Ann Hui, you have spent five decades capturing the quiet dignity of ordinary people’s lives, while opening a path for generations of women behind the camera,” Yeoh said. “I feel especially privileged to have had the opportunity to work with you.” The Hong Kong director, whose classics include Boat People and A Simple Life, previously received Busan’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year honor in 2014 and Venice’s Golden Lion for lifetime achievement in 2020. Her acceptance remarks were characteristically candid. “Before, I felt unwilling to receive career honors, because I wanted to continue making films,” Hui said. “But now that I’m nearly 80, I find filmmaking very difficult, so the prize comes just in time for me to appreciate it.” Hui said she had been attending Busan since its inaugural edition in 1996 and was especially pleased to receive the recognition before what she called one of the most “savvy and cinematically literate audiences in the world.” The opening ceremony was followed by the world premiere of Kim Jong-kwan’s The Table: Day and Night, an ensemble romance built around four pairs of people and their encounters at a single Seoul café. Kim and his cast joined the festivities, with the film starring host Kim Min-ha alongside Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Chang Ryul, Shim Eun-kyung, Lee Hee-jun, Jeon So-young and Kim Dong-hwi. This year marks only the second edition of Busan’s main competition, introduced in 2025 to give the festival an awards showcase closer to those of Europe’s leading festivals. Zhang’s jury will assess 13 contenders, handing out prizes for best film, best director, special jury prize, best actor and artistic contribution. The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs through Oct. 15, with the Asian Contents & Film Market taking place Oct. 10-13.