‘Foundation’ Season 2 First Look Revealed

Foundation is a slow sci-fi series, yet production seems to be moving along as fast as fans could dare hope. Apple TV+ released the first sneak peek image from Foundation Season 2 last month, along with a few announcements about the new installment. Fair warning: there are spoilers for Foundation Season 1 and the Foundation novels ahead.

Foundation is loosely based on a series of science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov, and was adapted to the screen by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman. February’s new image confirmed that two main characters are returning — Jared Harris as Hari Seldon and Lee Pace as Brother Day. Well, technically Pace may not be the same character since he has already played several different cloned versions of the galactic emperor, while Harris will presumably be playing some kind of artificially intelligent apparition of the radical mathemetician Seldon. Regardless, Apple also announced that the returning cast members include Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick, Leah Harvey as Salvor Hardin, Laura Birn as Eto Demerzel, Terrence Man as Brother Dusk and Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn. It will also include 10 new cast members in exciting new roles.

Isabella Laughland will play Brother Constant, a new cleric charged with evangelizing the Church of the Galactic Spirit throughout the Outer Reach. Kulvinder Ghir will play Poly Verisof, another cleric of the church with some demons to face. Sandra Yi Sencindiver – recently featured in Amazon’sWheel of Time adaptation – will play Enjoiner Rue, a former courtesan to the emperor and now a royal counselor to Queen Sareth.

Queen Sareth will be played by Ella-Rae Smith. She is the ruler of Cloud Dominion and has now used her wit and charm to get into the Imperial Palace on a secret quest for revenge. Meanwhile, Dimitri Leonidas plays one of the few roles here drawn straight from the books – Hober Mallow, an interplanetary trader reluctantly pulled into the path of fate.

Ben Daniels will play Bel Roise, a general intent on conquering the Foundation, while Hold McCallany will play Warden JaeggerFount of Terminus. Mikael Persbrandt will play The Warlord of Kalgan, who is described as “a monster of a man, coiled with muscle and possessing powerful psychic abilities,” which sounds suspiciously like “The Mule” of Asimov’s books. Finally, Rachel House will play a new character named TellemBond, the leader of a mysterious group called the “Mentallics,” and Nimrat Kaur will play Yanna Seldon.

Foundation is one of the most lauded series in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, but it is difficult to adapt because of the episodic way Asimov wrote it. The books take place across hundreds of years, with no characters surviving across the vast gulfs of time between chapters. The show made some major changes to fill in the gaps, which have gotten mixed responses from fans.

Foundation Season 1 is streaming now on Apple TV+. There is no official word on where Season 2 is at in the production timeline, and there is no release date in place for the new season yet.