Season 2 of Apple TV+‘s sci-fi epic Foundation is fast approaching, with it set to hit the service on July 14. Set over a century after the finale of its first season, Season 2 will see the return of Lee Pace as Brother Day, the head of the Galactic Empire, alongside Jared Harris who appears as Hari Seldon, a mathematician who predicts the future, foreseeing the collapse of the Empire. Now, as a new clip from the season’s premiere episode has been released, fans are able to get a glimpse at the coming crisis.
Based upon Isaac Asmiov‘s Foundation novel series, the first season was a slow burn, which followed four key individuals who are able to transcend space and time. Joining Harris and Pace in the cast are Lou Llobell, who stars as Hari’s protégée Gaal Dornick, and Leah Harvey, who appears as Salvor Hardin, the Warden of Terminus. Across the season each navigated deadly crises, uncertain loyalties and complex relationships, their actions ultimately determining the fate of humanity. While Asmiov‘s novels were used as a base for the show’s story, by the end of the first season it had largely diverged from the source material, though a synopsis for the upcoming seasons reveals that tensions are mounting throughout the galaxy; as the Cleons unravel, a vengeful queen is plotting to destroy Empire from within.
Hari, Gaal, and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself. The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: war with Empire.
Season 2 Was a Long Time in the Making
Speaking with Collider back in 2021, showrunner David S. Goyer revealed that Season 2 was mapped out from the show’s inception, sharing that Apple “would not have allowed me to proceed with season one if I didn’t have the bulk of Season 2 already figure it out.” Assuring audiences that any questions that were left following Season 1’s conclusion were intentional, he said “if there’s a question that we haven’t answered, there’s a reason why we haven’t answered it,” promising “it’s not because we forgot about it. It’s ‘watch this space.'” Speaking with IGN last month, Goyer expressed that his intentions with the upcoming season were to widen the scope the show, saying “broadly speaking, I wanted to showcase the scope, the grand sense of adventure, and that it was an epic with a capital E. And to also show that there are humans at the heart of it. That’s why the trailer very deliberately starts off in a darker place.”
Season 2 of Foundation premieres on Apple TV+ on July 14. In the meantime, you can catch up with the show’s entire first season which is streaming now. Check out the newly released clip below:
via Collider