With characters enticingly named Dawn and Day, Constant and Poly, Apple TV’s fanatic Foundation has crashlanded on almost everyone’s lips and the screens of course. Conjuring maths in the sub-plot, major story arc, characters’ names and well, almost every aspect of the series, Foundation has established itself as an epic maths saga under the sci-fi genre. The level of mathematical skills demonstrated by the screenplay writers is indeed commendable even if not a bit overly technical. Compared to the likes of Games of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, Foundation is an epic, huge-budget series that follows a mystical Galactic Empire.
Due to its fresh storyline, star-studded cast ensemble and graphic visuals, the series has amassed millions of fans. Now, those fans are wondering whether a new iteration will be released soon. If, you, too are wondering whether Foundation Season 3 is on its way, here is everything you need to know.
Foundation Season 3 Release Date
Adapted from Issac Asimov’s eponymous novel series, Foundation takes place over the course of eighty years in the Galactic Empire. David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman first proposed the series in 2017. Skydance Television then licensed the series along with several other producers such as David Ellison and Asimov’s daughter, Robyn who later joined the team. A year after the announcement, in 2018, Apple acquired the streaming rights and ordered a ten-episode first season.
However, due to the pandemic, the shooting was delayed for a couple of months. Foundation Season 1 eventually premiered on September 24, 2021, with two episodes. The rest eight episodes were scheduled for a weekly release. A week after the initial premiere, Apple confirmed the sophomore iteration of the series. It premiered on July 14, 2023, and has only covered a four-episode journey out of the scheduled ten episodes so far.
With Goyer’s ambitious vision and Apple’s determination to make Foundation the next epic sci-fi saga, a third season was confirmed even before it was officialized. As per Apple’s latest statement, Foundation Season 3 is already in production. However, Foundation Season 3 release date is yet to be confirmed. It is expected to premiere in mid-2024 at the earliest.
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The Makers’ Take On Foundation Season 3
When Goyer first came across Asimov’s sci-fi novel series, he was instantly enamoured. He then decided to adapt this “thousand-year saga of a band of exiles” into a cinematic delight and succeeded in doing so. According to Goyer, “It is a 1000-year chess game between Hari Seldon [the major character] and the [Galactic] Empire”. He aspires to portray this chess game in eighty episodes and eighty hours through eight seasons each ten-part-long. With the vision and aspiration he expressed, it is certain the Foundation series has a long way ahead of itself.
Originally, Foundation was supposed to be a film or a film franchise if it surpassed the expectations of the makers and the viewers. However, the idea was then rejected because Goyer opposed condensing the entire story arc into two or three hours films because it would be an injustice to the storyline. Now, he has proposed an eight-season long series and that is without counting the plausible spin-offs it might pave the way for.
This sci-fi fare has been nominated for the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award and is now the recipient of several other nominations as well. It has won two accolades for its visual graphics and creative storyline. The Foundation is now currently being filmed for a third season in Prague Czech Republic in late May 2023 with several more seasons to come ahead.
The Foundation Plot Setting
Though a bit mind-numbing and too mathematics-oriented, the Foundation possesses an intriguing plot nonetheless. It is centred around Hari Seldon (Jared Harris), who’s a mathematician and founder of psychohistory. According to Seldon, there’s nothing that mathematics cannot do or solve. Moreover, he believes that “math doesn’t take sides” and “people lie, numbers don’t”. Seldon has incorporated math into every aspect of his life and aspires to do the same for everybody around him.
He doesn’t only invent mathematical technologies that can easily use statistics and probability to accurately predict the future, he also utilizes prime numbers as stress busters. Now, Seldon has used his mystical math to predict future outcomes once again and the predicted results don’t appear promising.
The interstellar Galactic Empire on the planet Trantor is ruled by Emperor Cleon decanted in three phases as the young Brother Dawn (Cooper Carter/Cassian Bilton), middle-aged Brother Day (Lee Pace) and an older Brother Dusk (Terrance Mann). When Hari, utilizing his psychohistory, predicts that the empire will decline and raise havoc in the galaxy for 30,000 years, Cleon goes awry. However, there is a solution to salvage the galaxy and the empire but it isn’t as feasible as Cleon aspires for.
Foundation Series Summary
Seldon proposes to establish a knowledge repository, Foundation, to help the galaxy withstand the upcoming threats Galactic Empire could pose. Instead of agreeing to Hari’s stipulations and believing in his thesis, Emperor Cleon rules out his arguments and orders his exile. He cannot swallow the fact that his empire would be a cause of mass destruction and be scattered in turn. Seldon and his assistant, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) are about to be executed when a disastrous bomb goes off. The Trantor planet is shaken by the bombing to its core with millions losing their lives and thousands being disabled for life.
Brother Day (the clone of Emperor Cleon, also referred to as Emperor Cleon XII) then nullifies Hari and Gall’s execution in the haze of fear and greed. Cleon also agrees to Seldon’s proposal. He then allocates a ginormous space for Hari to establish the Foundation with the help of Dornick to fulfil his promise of salvaging the empire within a single millennium. However, Seldon’s plan isn’t full-proof and consists of several loopholes that may prove fatal in the long run. He believes in a result-driven strategy but has failed to analyze the unknown threats that could hamper his plans.
He has promised Cleon to shorten the dark age but Dornick has identified the inconsistency in the plan, leading to an impending conflict. Despite detecting some flaws in Seldon’s strategy, Gaal didn’t reveal much in front of the former. She decided to take things as they come and unravel them one day at a time instead of aiming to explore centuries in a short span as Seldon often does.
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Foundation Season 3 Plot
By the end of Season 1, Seldon and Gaal succeed in establishing the Foundation in Terminus and stop the First Crisis from rampaging the world. They also discovered the Prime Radiant, an artefact that helps Seldon divert the threats and save the Empire from destruction. Gaal’s daughter, Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey) is responsible for delivering the Prime Radiant to the duo. And she is thus hailed as the hero of the Foundation’s First Crisis.
However, in the Foundation Season 2, things have transformed. Seldon, Dorcick and Hardin have teamed up against time to protect the Galactic Empire. The next war, Second Crisis, is looming above their heads and they have a significant mission to carry on. To achieve this, Hari teams up with the con man, Hober Mallow, to become his knife and exert a sort-of pressure if needed.
Seldon aspires to establish a sort of bridge between the Foundation and the Empire which has become incessantly estranged. He believes, with this unification, the Second Crisis could be stopped. Moreover, Gaal, with her time travel skills, has demonstrated that Mallow’s character is enormous in the Foundation. With the introduction of a faceless, “passing ghost”, things are heating up for the Foundation.
Since Season 2 is yet not over, predicting a plot for a third season isn’t possible. However, it could be said that Seldon’s dream Foundation could be targeted. And the Empire is yet to undergo several transformations.
Foundation Season 3 Cast
As Goyer stated, this chess game is between “Hari Seldon and the [Galactic] Empire and all the characters in between are the pawns, but some of the pawns over the course of this saga end up becoming kings and queens”. These pawns help Seldon climb the ranks and achieve his mission to salvage the Empire by empowering the Foundation.
For the cast of Season 3, the exact cast list cannot be predicted. But it is confirmed that the main cast member of the previous seasons would reprise their roles. Jared Harris would once again take on the role of the math geek, Hari Seldon. Lou Lloubell would portray Gall Dornick, a time travelling historian. Also, Leah Harvey will reprise the role of Salvor Hardin, Gaal’s daughter and the Warden of Terminus. Expect more cast members to join the list!
Foundation Season 3 Release Date: FAQs
It is a sci-fi series centred around a psychohistorian, Hari Seldon who embarks on a mission to save the Galactic Empire.
The series is created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman.
No, it is not confirmed.
It is expected to premiere in mid-2024.
No, there is no trailer available yet.
You can stream the series on Apple TV+.
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