Promotional material for The Wandering Earth II Photo: Courtesy of Maoyan

The much-awaited The Wandering Earth 3, the ­latest chapter in China's blockbuster sci-fi saga, began filming on Tuesday in Qingdao, East ­China's Shandong Province. The launch ceremony, graced by director Guo Fan and lead actors Wu Jing and Shen Teng, ignited excitement across Chinese social media, marking a pivotal moment for the franchise 18 months after its release date was first announced.

"People have been waiting so long for the last one of the trilogy of The Wandering Earth. The trilogy has become China's sci-fi universe IP. It's not just about record-breaking box office numbers - it has won the hearts of moviegoers," Sun Jiashan, an associate researcher at the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

Adapted from Hugo Award winner Liu Cixin's novel of the same name, The Wandering Earth made its debut in 2019, grossed 4.687 billion yuan ($640.7 million) at the box office, and marked the dawn of Chinese sci-fi cinema while its sequel in 2023 grossed 4.043 billion yuan in ticket sales. 

The combined total of 8.7 billion yuan solidifies the series' position among the highest-grossing films in Chinese cinematic history.

The series has "become an industrial benchmark for domestic film production, showcasing cutting-edge visual effects and exemplifying standardized, systematized, and streamlined filmmaking processes," added Sun. 

At its core, The Wandering Earth resonates through its powerful theme of global cooperation. "It shows the world a vision of humanity uniting to save our shared future amid unprecedented disasters," Sun added, highlighting its appeal across cultures and nations.

"That's why Chinese audiences pay much attention to such a movie, which is set to hit the big screens 662 days later," he explained. 

Wang Hongwei, secretary-general of the ­China Film Directors Association and president of the Science Fiction Film Working Committee of the China Film Association, revealed that 

the script team had reached 80 percent completion the night before the Tuesday ceremony, according to a report on guancha.cn. 

Director Guo said that they "upgraded the script for nine versions and we are still adding new things to it" in an earlier interview with the Global Times.

According to the film script filing information on the official website of the China Film Administration, The Wandering Earth 3 will be released in two parts. 

Speaking to China's CCTV on Tuesday, Guo said, "Innovation is everything. The Wandering Earth 3 will be completely new - something audiences haven't seen before." 

Guo expressed his hopes for the project: "I want audiences to feel moved, astounded, and truly immersed. More importantly, they can experience a sense of true immersion."

Thanks to the surprising market performance from Chinese movies including Ne Zha 2, the Chinese film market in 2025 has achieved $3.446 billion in box office, securing the first place in the world's annual box office chart and accounting for 37.35 percent, much higher than the North America's 19.86 percent, the statistics from ticketing site Maoyan showed.