LA Times Today: Scientists say they ‘de-extincted' dire wolves. Experts at La Brea Tar Pits are skeptical
L.A. Times reporting fellow Kaitlyn Huamani joined Lisa McRee to explain.
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Business Upturn
2 days ago
- Business Upturn
3Body Problem Season 2: Release window, cast and plot details – Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on August 14, 2025, 18:00 IST Last updated August 14, 2025, 11:03 IST Netflix's 3 Body Problem hooked sci-fi fans with its mind-bending first season, and the buzz for Season 2 is already off the charts. Adapted from Liu Cixin's epic Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, the show blends cosmic stakes with human drama, leaving everyone eager for what's next. Here's a deep dive into everything known about 3 Body Problem Season 2, from when it might hit screens to who's returning and what the story could explore. When Will Season 2 Premiere? Pinpointing an exact release date for 3 Body Problem Season 2 is tricky, as Netflix hasn't dropped a confirmed date yet. Production kicked off in July 2025 in Budapest, Hungary, with Seasons 2 and 3 being filmed back-to-back, according to the Hungarian National Film Office. Filming is set to wrap by August 2027, but Season 2 is expected to land much sooner, likely in 2026. Some reports, like one from , suggest a specific premiere date of March 19, 2026, with eight episodes dropping at once. Others, like , point to a broader window of late 2025 to early 2026, citing the heavy visual effects work that could stretch post-production. Given the first season's nine-month filming and extensive CGI, a mid-2026 release feels like a safe bet for now. Who's in the Cast? The 3 Body Problem Season 2 cast is shaping up to be a mix of familiar faces and exciting new additions. Most of the core players from Season 1 are expected to return, though the show's willingness to kill off characters (a nod to its Game of Thrones roots) keeps things unpredictable. Here's who's likely coming back: Jess Hong as Jin Cheng, the brilliant scientist wrestling with the fallout of the Staircase Project. Benedict Wong as Da Shi, the fan-favorite detective with a knack for cutting through the chaos. Eiza González as Auggie Salazar, the nanotechnology expert navigating existential threats. Jovan Adepo as Saul Durand, whose role as a Wallfacer is set to take center stage. Liam Cunningham as Thomas Wade, the tough-as-nails intelligence leader. Saamer Usmani as Raj Varma, a naval officer key to humanity's defense. Marlo Kelly as Tatiana Haas, tied to the alien threat in mysterious ways. Sea Shimooka as Sophon, the San-Ti's enigmatic representative. New faces are joining the fray, too. Claudia Doumit ( The Boys ) steps in as Captain Van Rijn, a role hinting at a starship fleet storyline from The Dark Forest . Ellie de Lange ( The Serpent ) will play Ayla, a character expected to have a major impact. Alfie Allen ( Game of Thrones ), reuniting with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, joins in a recurring role as 'Fuzzy Brain,' though details about his character remain under wraps. David Yip and Jordan Sunshine also hop on board as recurring cast members, likely bringing fresh faces from the novels. What's the Plot About? Season 2 is poised to dive into The Dark Forest , the second book in Liu Cixin's trilogy, while possibly pulling threads from Death's End . The first season ended with humanity reeling from the San-Ti's impending invasion, set to arrive in 400 years, and the launch of the Wallfacer Project to counter their surveillance via sophons. Expect the story to ramp up the stakes with these key elements: The Wallfacer Program : Saul Durand's new role as a Wallfacer will drive much of the drama. Tasked with crafting secret strategies to outsmart the San-Ti, his reluctance to embrace this responsibility could spark intense character moments. The show might explore how his plans unfold under the aliens' watchful eyes. The Dark Forest Hypothesis : This chilling concept suggests civilizations stay silent to avoid hostile aliens, shaping Earth's strategy against the San-Ti. Season 2 will likely lean into this psychological and strategic tension, as humanity grapples with survival. Time Jumps and New Faces : Liu's novels span centuries, so the show might introduce time jumps or age up characters to reflect the long timeline. New characters from The Dark Forest , like those tied to the starship fleet, could shake up the narrative. Cosmic Conflict: Showrunners David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo have teased a 'wilder' and 'more cosmic' tone for Season 2. The story will likely expand on Earth's preparations, with bigger set pieces and deeper exploration of the San-Ti's motives. While the show has taken liberties with the source material—shifting settings to the UK and diversifying the cast—Season 2 is expected to stay true to the novels' core themes while adding its own flair. The creators have promised to resolve major plot threads from Season 1, setting the stage for an epic conclusion in Season 3. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
USA Today
3 days ago
- USA Today
Dire wolf meet-up: Watch Colossal's female wolf frolic with older brothers
Colossal Biosciences created three dire wolves using genetic engineering. Now that the wolves have gotten older – the two males are approaching one year old – they are being assimilated into a pack. Those cute dire wolves are forming a pack. If you remember, Colossal Biosciences, the company seeking to bring back the woolly mammoth, revealed in April 2025 it had successfully birthed a trio of dire wolf puppies. Using dire wolf DNA extracted from fossils – yes, dire wolves aren't just the stuff of "Game of Thrones" fiction, they existed tens of thousands of years ago – the Colossal researchers created dire wolf genomes. They used those as a guide to editing a gray wolf genome to express dire wolf traits. The resultant fertilized dire wolf eggs were implanted into and born by surrogate dog mothers, resulting in the successful resurrection of an Ice Age-era species. Two male dire wolves, Romulus and Remus, born in October 2024, are approaching their first birthday – each weighed more than 90 pounds at six months old, significantly larger than standard gray wolves, the Dallas, Texas-based biotech company says – while a female, Khaleesi (named after the "Game of Thrones" character), is about six months old. Home delivery: A meteorite crashes into a Georgia home. Turns out it's older than Earth. 'She's completely been accepted into the pack': All in the dire wolf family Recently, the Colossal team thought it was time to introduce the brothers to their sister. "We're working through the socialization and the introduction of Khaleesi into the pack," Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm told USA TODAY. "They're starting to behave more and more like wolves," he said. "We don't want them to be lap dogs." You can see Khaleesi come into a grassy, fenced six-acre section of Colossal's 2,000-acre ecological preserve where she first gets to meet Romulus, in a video posted Aug. 12 on Colossal's YouTube channel. "At first, she was a little like, 'Whoa, he's right there," said Paige McNickle, manager of animal husbandry at Colossal and manager of the team that takes care of the dire wolves. The older male wolf, Romulus, came up to Khaleesi, and they smelled each other and then she took off on a run and he followed her. "They were playing with each other. Their ears were up the entire time, which is a good, happy, calm, wolf behavior that we were hoping to see," McNickle said. After a bit, Romulus is ushered away and Remus is brought into the area. "They were both excited. Everybody was so good in play, but Remus is almost more gentle than Romulus," McNickle said. "Romulus is just a little bit bigger, and Remus did really good. We saw lots of play behaviors," she said. "They kept their ears up, they wagged their tails. They followed each other around. They all got to explore the pool together. When they got hot, they went right over and cooled themselves off, especially Khaleesi." The trio then got to play together, although in coming days, she will get extended time with one brother on one day and another on the next day, McNickle said. The play area has a collection of logs, which Khaleesi is small enough to fit under, where she occasionally played hide and seek from her larger brothers. "We want to make sure that … (when) they're playing, they can separate, they can socialize, they can smell each other, but then, you know, if Khaleesi wants to get away – or Romulus or Remus want to get away – we need to make sure that we give them that comfort so they don't feel overwhelmed or feel pressured," Lamm said. "But the great news about it is she's completely been accepted into the pack." Leader of the dire wolf pack That pack will likely be growing. Colossal is planning to engineer two to four more dire wolves over the next year, Lamm said. Rather than let these wolves breed, the researchers want future pups from "a couple different cell lines," he said. "We will actually get more genetic diversity." And wolves of different ages, as they are adopted in the pack, will grow up "in some kind of social hierarchy." As of now, Remus, the smaller of the male wolves, appears to be emerging as the leader, having exhibited Alpha male characteristics. When the dire wolves were first introduced to the world, Remus "kind of became the star," Lamm said. "Remus really has this take-charge attitude. … Romulus has always been bigger and I just thought, natural selection, the biggest and strongest." Recently, Romulus and Remus began receiving larger carcasses for feeding – from rabbits to deer legs and cattle portions, beyond their regular menu of ground meat, meat chunks, and other foods – so they would learn important social skills. Colossal is currently working with Grizzly Systems and Yellowstone National Park's Wolf Project, deploying audiovisual recording devices to understand pack behavior and wolf populations. Artificial intelligence software helps identify "specific wolves in that setting and then begin to understand how we can estimate population size based on how many times we count the same wolf," said Matt James, Colossal's chief animal officer, in another video on the company's YouTube channel. Those devices will eventually be deployed in Colossal's reserve to monitor its growing dire wolf pack. Those tools will make it "so that we can just be observing them in a more passive manner," Lamm said. "This is just the next chapter in their story." Colossal continues other projects amid dire wolf controversy Critics have argued that the pups are not truly dire wolves, but genetically-modified gray wolves. Colossal has countered that their dire wolves share 99.5% of the same genetics as the original dire wolf. Some have also scolded Colossal for tinkering with genetics, but the tech firm insists its work will aid in the conservation and protection of endangered species. Recently, Colossal announced plans to resurrect the long-extinct New Zealand bird species, the moa, at the urging of filmmaker Peter Jackson, who is an investor in Colossal. Colossal first gained attention with its 2021 announced goal of bringing back the woolly mammoth. Earlier this year, the company unveiled its Colossal Woolly Mouse, which was genetically engineered to have characteristics that could eventually be used in creating a next-generation woolly mammoth embryo to be born by a female elephant. In August 2022, the company said it also planned to de-extinct the Australian thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger. Another project: the return of the dodo, which was killed off about 350 years ago. Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
Netflix's ‘3 Body Problem' Adds ‘Game of Thrones' Alum to Season 2 Cast (Exclusive)
Netflix's sci-fi epic 3 Body Problem is adding another familiar face from Game of Thrones. The production — which is from Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss along with Alexander Woo — has cast Alfie Allen in a recurring role in season two. In addition, David Yip (The Chinese Detective) and Jordan Sunshine (Wonder Pets) have also joined the cast. They join previously announced new cast members Claudia Doumit and Ellie De Lange. More from The Hollywood Reporter This Tennessee Grandma Just Might Be the Savior of Sitcoms 'Long Story Short' From 'BoJack Horseman' Creator Lands Season 2 Renewal Ahead of Series Premiere Netflix Reveals 10-Title Colombia Slate Featuring True Crime, Franchise Finales and Political Drama The season has just started production in Budapest, Hungary. The production has also revealed who from the first season's cast is making the vast time jump into the season two storyline: Jess Hong as Jin, Benedict Wong as Da Shi, Eiza González as Auggie, Jovan Adepo as Saul, Saamer Usmani as Raj, Liam Cunningham as Wade, Marlo Kelly as Tatiana, Sea Shimooka as Sophon and Josh Brener as Kent. In addition, Emmy-winning Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik ('Battle of the Bastards') is reuniting with Benioff and Weiss to executive produce and direct multiple episodes along with fellow Thrones alum Jeremy Podeswa, who also worked on season one. The season two description is brief and cryptic: 'As the alien invasion nears, humanity prepares — on Earth and elsewhere.' Since his breakout role as Theon Greyjoy on Thrones, Allen has appeared in John Wick, Jojo Rabbit and most recently starred in the Dutch crime drama Safe Harbor. In addition to Cunningham (who played Davos Seaworth on Thrones), the show's first season also featured Thrones alum John Bradley and Jonathan Pryce, along with cameo appearance by Conleth Hill. 3 Body Problem is an adaptation of author Cixin Liu's trilogy that tells the story of an alien invasion set over a vast period of time. The first season debuted last year to critical acclaim and topped Netflix's TV chart for several weeks. The streamer has renewed the show for a second and third season to conclude the story. 'We're thrilled that we get to tell this story through to its epic conclusion,' the showrunners said in a statement at the time. 'Ever since we read the last page of Cixin Liu's magnificent trilogy, we hoped we'd be able to bring the audience to the end of the universe with us. Here we go!' In addition, Benioff and Weiss renewed their overall deal with the streamer to write, produce and direct new series and films. In addition to the continuation of 3 Body Problem, they are currently working on the recently announced series Death by Lightning. Woo also has an overall deal at the streamer. Benioff previously told The Hollywood Reporter for a cover story that the second season of 3 Body Problem would be even better than the first: 'Liu Cixin's created this indelible trilogy and the books just get better for me. The second book is far better than the first, and the third book just completely blew my mind. The story just gets more and more ambitious as it goes, and it takes a huge leap in book two. So I feel like if we survive to the second season, we're going to be in a good place.' The series is also executive produced by Bernadette Caulfield, Duncan Muggoch, Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, Nena Rodrigue, Qi Lin, Jilong Zhao, Brad Pitt, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Rosamund Pike, and Robie Uniacke. While there's no premiere date yet for season two, a return in 2026 seems likely. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword
