In Cixin Liu’s epic science fiction novel trilogy — which begins with The Three-Body Problem — it takes 400 years for the invading Trisolorian fleet to come to Earth. It won’t take that long for the next season of 3 Body Problem to hit Netflix, but it still might feel longer than expected. While it’s very encouraging that showrunners David Benioff, D.B Weiss, and Alexander Woo have gotten the green light to finish adapting the rest of the story, it does sound like we may all need to get used to waiting. Like the long game in the novel, a devotion to the Netflix version of 3 Body Problem will require a lot of patience.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, although 3 Body Problem is currently moving forward on adapting the events from the second and third novels, it’s not exactly clear at this time how many seasons this will entail. Netflix publicly confirmed “additional episodes,” and THR has clarified that, saying: “While the trio didn’t reveal the exact number of episodes in their new deal, they emphasized it was for ‘seasons’ — plural — and that the number of hours aligns with their original plan to adapt author Liu Cixin’s two remaining novels in his Hugo-winning trilogy.”

WHY 3 BODY’S NEW SEASONS WILL BE HUGE

Zine Tseng in '3 Body Problem.'

3 Body Problems will move well beyond the 20th and 21st centuries.

NETFLIX

Because 3 Body Problem Season 1 adapted all the contemporary aspects of all three books at once, the challenge of the next season (and beyond) is to establish the next future-tense setting; roughly in the 23rd century. And then, after that, thousands of years into the future, and eventually, 18 million years later.

Some characters from the series — specifically Saul, Wade, Jin, and Will — could likely survive to see many of these future jumps, thanks to hibernation technology, and at least one alien-aided fully-body resurrection. But, 3 Body Problem Season 2 (and 3) will have to introduce new characters, as well as entirely new settings, including, but not limited to, massive starships, space colonies in the shadow of the outer planets, and not to mention a pocket universe at the end of time.

It’s a lot of story and a lot of work. And, as a result, it sounds like we’re going to have to wait two, perhaps even three years to see it all come to life.

DO WE KNOW THE 3 BODY PROBLEM SEASON 2 RELEASE DATE?

Eiza González as Auggie in '3 Body Problem'

Will Auggie return in Season 2? Will she make it to the future?

NETFLIX

According to THR, “[The showrunners] spent four years working on the first season, and noted they plan to work on the remaining episodes for the next three years.” The report speculated that maybe the next two seasons might be filmed back-to-back. But because of the huge amount of work to be done on the series, and the timeframe outlined by David Benioff, D.B Weiss, and Alexander Woo, 2027 is sounding like a safe bet for 3 Body Problem Season 2.

While a two to three-year wait for a head-scratching Netflix sci-fi show might sound like a long time, this kind of massive time scale is very much in keeping with the story. In the second novel, Earth’s military forces worry about morale in the future, because generations of humans won’t see any real progress for their work. Netflix arguably has a similar problem. The epic story of 3 Body Problem can be told, but in a few years, the hype machine will have to start all over again.