Thanks in large part to Star Wars, the concept of rebel versus empire has become a common part of space opera sci-fi stories. However, the empire at the heart of Apple TV+’s Foundation isn’t cast in the same light as the Empire from George Lucas’ epic. Instead, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation stories predate Star Wars by almost four decades, and they present a future where the goal isn’t to bring down the empire. It’s to ensure that humanity has a future when the empire inevitably collapses. And if the first teaser trailer for Foundation season 2 is any indication, the fall of the empire may come sooner than expected.
This empire is controlled by Brother Day (Lee Pace), who is advised by his elder clone, Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann), while preparing their younger clone, Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton), to eventually take the throne. All three of them are clones of Cleon I, the empire’s first ruler. But the way things are going, Brother Day may find himself as the last emperor.
Over a century ago, Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) gave his life to the idea that he and his followers could predict the future of the empire and shorten the dark age that follows to only 1,000 years. Seldon may be gone, but his mind lives on in the form of A.I. clones. Seldon’s successors, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), and her daughter, Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), also carry on his work. But a monumental task awaits this mother-and-daughter duo, especially since Seldon’s model of future history can’t account for every variable.
New additions to the cast this season include Isabella Laughland as Brother Constant, Kulvinder Ghir as Poly Verisof, Sandra Yi Sencindiver as Enjoiner Rue, Ella-Rae Smith as Queen Sareth, Dimitri Leonidas as HoberMallow, Ben Daniels as Bel Roise, Holt McCallany as Warden Jaegger Fount, Mikael Persbrandt as The Warlord of Kalgan, Rachel House as TellemBond, and Nimrat Kaur as Yanna Seldon.
Foundation season 2 will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 14.
