Based on the novella of the same title by the influential sci-fi writer Liu Cixin, 'The Wandering Earth' tells the story of a group of astronauts and scientists who have to work together to save Earth from the Sun, which has turned into a Red Giant and will explode. They have to do so by employing enormous thrusters to literally move Earth out of the solar system into the safety of a neighbouring planetary system.
The movie premiered in China, North America, Australia, and New Zealand regions during Lunar New Year, and was a box office hit - earning RMB 3.3 billion within 10 days.
Netflix has since bought rights to the film.
“Netflix is committed to providing entertainment lovers with access to a wide variety of global content,” said Jerry Zhang, manager of content acquisition at Netflix. “With its high-quality production and story-telling, we believe that ‘The Wandering Earth’ will be loved by sci-fi fans around the world.”
The film stars Qu Chuxiao ('Bloody Romance'), Li Guangjie ('Peace Hotel'), Ng Man-tat ('Shaolin Soccer'), and Zhao Jinmai ('My! Physical Education Teacher'); and is directed by Frant Gwo, the helmer behind the box office hit 'My Old Classmate'.
Gwo said, “Audiences from over 190 countries will soon meet The Wandering Earth on Netflix. I am glad that our movie can reach to people from different parts of the world. This is a Chinese movie created for the world, and it has been positively received since its premiere, we are very excited about it. To my surprise, this movie also resonates outside Mainland China. Netflix will translate it into 28 languages, enabling more viewers to enjoy it regardless of geographical and linguistic differences. I hope they will like it.”
Netflix has not provided a release date for 'The Wandering Earth'.