3 Body Problem, the newest mystery drama series anticipated to join Netflix’s roster, almost had an exciting cameo on board. According to Deadline, creator David Benioff (Game of Thrones) sat down with USA Today to share that he and co-creators DB Weiss (Metal Lords) and Alexander Woo (True Blood) said former president Barack Obama declined an invitation to join the show despite being a fan of the Liu Cixin (The Dark Forest) sci-fi novel, which was adapted for the series and shares the same name. 

As per Deadline, Benioff said, “He did sign a very funny note, when we tried to get him for a cameo. It was to the effect of, ‘In case there ever is a real alien invasion, I think I should probably save myself for that crisis.’”

3 Body Problem is Weiss and Benioff’s most significant project since the end of Game of Thrones in 2019. The series chronicles five characters from Earth who try to prevent the planet from an alien invasion. Since its release in 2008, the novel has sold nine million copies and won a Hugo award. 

Deadline notes that Weiss recently spoke with the BBC about the novel’s complex nature. He and Benioff were interested in its complexity and said it was “unlike anything we’d ever read, certainly unlike anything we’d ever contemplated bringing to the screen.” Weiss also said it was “about as far away as you can get from what we’d just done on Thrones.”

The cast for 3 Body Problem currently includes Liam Cunningham (Clash of the Titans), Rosalind Chao (Mulan), Zene Tseng (Learning English), Marlo Kelly (Dare Me), Benedict Wong (Annihilation), Eiza González (Baby Driver), John Bradley (Moonfall), Jess Hong (Creamerie) and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes). 

Deadline also notes that, considering 3 Body Problem is just the first book in the trilogy, Benioff and Weiss may have their work cut out for them if they were to adapt each novel. During the same interview, Benioff also said to the BBC, “I hope it’s as big as Thrones. Our goal really is to get to the third season.”