Hardcore sci-fi fans everywhere will be thrilled to learn that Isaac Asimov’s trailblazing Foundation series will be given a screen adaptation for the first time as Apple TV+ is set to stream a new show based on the stories in the Fall.
Foundation / Photo Credit: Apple TV+
For those unfamiliar with these groundbreaking books, it follows a group of scientists and engineers who set out to save the future of civilisation as the Galactic Empire crumbles out of control. Humanity is facing the end, and while many refuse to accept it, there are those who know that they have to do everything they can to preserve their legacy even if it takes a millennium to take effect.
It focuses on a mathematical sociology called psychohistory which deals with predicting the behaviours of a huge population of people, and states that awareness of these predictions among the population would yield unpredictable actions.
Like such novels as Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley’s Brave New World, it reflects unsettling themes of the society we live in, and has had its own impact on real life social sciences. For showrunner David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, Blade, Man of Steel), the timing of Foundation couldn’t be better.
“In the decades since the Foundation series first saw print, Asimov’s prophetic science-fiction work has never been more relevant than it is now,” Goyer said in a statement. “Growing up, I devoured Foundation and dreamed of one day seeing it on screen – but a feature film didn’t seem big enough to embrace the ambition.
“Thanks to the broader landscape of streaming and a valuable partnership with Apple and Skydance, we are able to bring the series to the screen in a way that truly does it justice.”
The show stars Jared Harris (Chernobyl) as protagonist Dr. Hari Seldon, alongside Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy), Leah Harvey (Les Misérables), Laura Birn (The Innocents), Terrence Mann (Sense8), Daniel MacPherson (Strike Back) and T'Nia Miller (The Haunting of Bly Manor), as well as newcomers Lou Llobell, Cassian Bilton and Pravessh Rana.
Foundation has ten episodes lined up with the first three episodes being streamed on September 24th, followed by one a week every Friday.
MORE: Check out the vibrant new trailer for Apple TV’s new musical comedy series, Schmigadoon!
It’s certainly not the first of the author’s works to be adapted to film though; I, Robot and Bicentennial Man are two popular films that were originally Asimov stories.
Foundation will premiere on Apple TV+ on September 24th 2021.
Tagged in Sci Fi Books Television Apple TV+