It’s hard to imagine a TV series like Foundation being considered a viable option even ten years ago, but in this brave new world of streaming, studios are more than willing to pump millions of dollars into stories that otherwise would have been considered unfilmable. Apple TV+ has adapted Isaac Asimov’s ground-breaking sci-fi epic in a series that looks quite incredible, and you can check out the new Foundation trailer above!
Foundation chronicles the “thousand-year saga of The Foundation, a band of exiles who discover that the only way to save the Galactic Empire from destruction is to defy it.” The fate of an entire galaxy rests on the beliefs of Dr. Hari Seldon (Jared Harris), who has predicted that the Galactic Empire will fall. Dr. Seldon and his followers set out to provide a future for the civilization, but the ruling class isn’t too thrilled about it. In addition to Jared Harris, Foundation also stars Lee Pace as Brother Day; Lou Llobell as Gaal; Leah Harvey as Salvor; Laura Birn as Demerzel; Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk; and Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn. While speaking with THR, Foundation showrunner and executive producer David Goyer discussed why the story has proven so difficult to adapt.
There are three tricky aspects to Foundation that I think have tripped up all the other adaptations. The first is that the story is supposed to span 1,000 years with all these massive time jumps — that’s hard to tell. It’s certainly hard to capsulize in a two- or three-hour film. The second aspect is, the books are kind of anthological. You’ll have a couple of short stories in the first book with main character Salvor Hardin, then you’ll jump forward a hundred years and there’ll be a different character.
Goyer continued, “The third thing is that they’re not particularly emotional; they’re books about ideas, about concepts. So a lot of the action happens off-screen. In the books, the Empire, which is on 10,000 worlds, literally falls off-screen — like, it happens in between chapters. Obviously, that wasn’t going to work for a television show. So without giving too much away, I figured out a way to have some of the characters extend their lifespans. About six characters will continue from season to season, from century to century. That way it becomes half anthological, half continuing story.” With such an ambitious story to tell, I can only hope that they’ll get the opportunity. What did you think of the latest Foundation trailer?
Foundation will debut on Apple TV+ on September 24, 2021.