The makers of "Game of Thrones" return with "3 Body Problem", the adaptation of an iconic Chinese sci-fi trilogy. 

It premieres this weekend at the South by Southwest Festival in Texas before launching on Netflix on 21 March.

Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, coming off their huge hit with "Game of Thrones", have liberally translated from the books by Liu Cixin, which has already been adapted for Chinese TV. 

The trilogy of books, which began with "The Three-Body Problem" in 2008, jumps between countries, eras and protagonists as Earth confronts an existential threat, and is considered a sci-fi landmark. 

"Making Game of Thrones was the greatest experience of our lives, but we spent 10 solid years living in that fictional world, so we wanted something that presented a new set of challenges on every level," Weiss said.

"It's the story of an impending threat, but it's tethered by and centred around this core group of characters," added Benioff.

The cast includes three of the main actors from "Game of Thrones": John Bradley as an Oxford scientist, Liam Cunningham as the head of an intelligence agency and Jonathan Pryce as an oil tycoon. 

The showrunners also brought back key members of the effects and production crew — as well as composer Ramin Djawadi — to try to achieve the same grandiose and polished style.  

It was shot to a speedy nine-month schedule across England, Spain, the United Nations headquarters in New York and Cape Canaveral in Florida. 

"Between climate change and the pandemic, we've gotten a glimpse into how people in the world react differently to a global threat," said Weiss. 

"We see a similar spectrum of reactions in '3 Body Problem', which resonates with so many of us now."