David S. Goyer and Apple TV+ Give Us a First Look at Isaac Asimov’s Foundation

Ever since the series finale of Game of Thrones, streamers have been competing to deliver the next big science fiction/fantasy saga. Amazon is betting heavily on The Lord of the Rings prequel series and The Wheel of Time adaptation. Hulu has already captured audiences with The Handmaid’s Tale and looks to expand their reach with Y: the Last Man.

And now Apple TV+ is throwing their hat into the ring with Foundation, an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s science fiction saga.

This is Apple TV+’s second attempt at a prestige science fiction series, following the Jason Momoa-led dystopia series See, which no one watches, yet which somehow garnered a second season. And Foundation boasts quite a team in front of and behind the camera. David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) takes the reins as showrunner, writer, and executive producer of the series.

Based on the award-winning novels by Isaac Asimov, Foundation chronicles a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilization amid the fall of the Galactic Empire. “Foundation is the greatest science fiction work of all time,” says Goyer, adding “It was such a phenomenal influence on the Star Wars universe, even things like Dune were influenced by Foundation.”

Foundation began as a series of short stories which were published from 1942 to 1950. Asimov later expanded the series to seven novels, adding new volumes through the 1980s before his death in 1992. The series has been hailed by politicians, scientists, and authors who have sung its praises for decades. When Musk launched his Tesla Roadster into space in 2018, he included a 5D optical data storage copy of the Foundation series.

Many have tried to adapt the series for film and television over the years, most recently with Jonathan Nolan (Westworld) at HBO, but those projects never moved past the development stage.

Foundation stars Jared Harris (Mad Men, The Crown) as Dr. Hari Seldon; Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies, Halt and Catch Fire) as Brother Day; Lou Llobell (Voyagers) as Gaal Dornick; Leah Harvey (Les Misérables) as Salvor Hardin; Laura Birn (The Innocents) as Demerzel; and Terrence Mann (Sense8) as Brother Dusk.

And if this first look is anything to go by, the series has all the hallmarks of a sci-fi epic: gorgeous vistas, award-winning actors, and a whole lot of money to create Asimov’s universe. Jared Harris said of the series, “It’s epic. It’s epic in its ambition, it’s epic in its storytelling, it’s a thousand-year tale.”

Foundation‘s first two episodes premiere on September 24 on Apple TV+, with the following episodes dropping weekly.

(image: Apple TV+)

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