Foundation Anticipation: Yes, it's actually happening

[Meredith Quill]

Anticipate Here!

[xaxat]

It wasn't until I saw this trailer that I actually believed that someone had managed to film a version of it.

It looks gorgeous. Apple+, 2021.

[mac123x]

David Goyer is involved?  Wonderful, he's managed to fuck up so many other things, why not this.  It looks like they're adding action and fighting and splosions because all SF has to have that now.  

 

I'm guessing it'll be as faithful to the source material as I Robot was, in that they'll both be in English.

[paulvdb]

The 2021 Apple TV+ Guide. New Year. New Movies. New Shows. New Seasons.

Foundation is listed for Fall 2021.

[SnarkShark]

Just saw a bit about this in an AppleTV ad. 

While it could be interesting, there's zero chance it accurately conveys what's in the books. 

[marinw]

Hmm. Feels like Dune crossed with Star Wars. Hard to judge from this trailer, but I think the subject matter demands a more cerebral Expanse/Star Trek like treatment. Still, I wasn't palnning on renewing my Apple+ subscription until season three of For All Mankind drops, but if this is actually good I may resubscribe before then.

[paulvdb]

Apple TV+ Releases Gripping New Sneak Peek at "Foundation" and Sets Highly Anticipated Global Premiere for Friday, September 24, 2021

Quote

The 10-episode first season of "Foundation" will debut globally on Apple TV+ on September 24, 2021 with the first three episodes, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.

Teaser:

It's been a long time since I read the books, so I'm not sure how closely the teaser and the series description at the above link follow the books.

[marinw]

23 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

It's been a long time since I read the books, so I'm not sure how closely the teaser and the series description at the above link follow the books.

Same here. I did read somewhere that they gender swapped a few characters, CMIIW but not that much Azimov has been adapted for film and TV. The only thing I can think of was the underwhelming I, Robot.

In any case, I am always happy to see Jared Harris.

[AnimeMania]

David S. Goyer, is the showrunner behind the Apple TV+ adaptation of Foundation.

"There are three tricky aspects to Foundation that I think have tripped up all the other adaptations," Goyer said. "The first is that the story is supposed to span 1,000 years with all these massive time jumps — that's hard to tell. It's certainly hard to capsulize in a two- or three-hour film. The second aspect is the books are kind of anthological. You'll have a couple of short stories in the first book with the main character Salvor Hardin, then you'll jump forward a hundred years and there'll be a different character. The third thing is that they're not particularly emotional; they're books about ideas, about concepts. So a lot of the action happens off-screen. In the books, the Empire, which is on 10,000 worlds, literally falls off-screen — like, it happens in between chapters. Obviously, that wasn't going to work for a television show.

"So without giving too much away, I figured out a way to have some of the characters extend their lifespans. About six characters will continue from season to season, from century to century. That way it becomes a half anthological, half continuing story."

 One of the aspects that I added was this idea of the genetic dynasty. Because in the books, there are different emperors but they're largely faceless. You jumped forward a couple of hundred years and there's a different emperor. I wanted there to be consistent faces, even if they're different characters. So, I came up with this idea that the Empire is a series of clones of one man that they keep recycling over and over again. But, at any one time, there are three of them on the throne — Brother Dawn, Brother Day, and Brother Dusk. And so, even though we'll jump forward sometimes between seasons and these will technically be different characters, these three guys have the same face. I felt that would give the audience a foothold. And since the Empire doesn't want to change, what's the cleanest expression of being resistant to change or wanting to impose your will across millennia? It's, "What if I can be the same person over and over again?"

"I pitched this as eight seasons, so if it works out, I get 80 hours."

[Melina22]

David Goyer's comments are insightful. It's been years since I read the books but I remember that they lacked emotion and most of the characters were faceless. I couldn't imagine how they could film the books in a way that would engage viewers, especially since the majority will not have read the books. It sounds like they might have found a way. 

I know there will be an ongoing battle between the purists who want to see the books replicated exactly, and the people who haven't read them and/or don't care how different the show is. Personally, I'm going to view the show as its own thing, and hope that it becomes something everyone talks about for years. 

[theschnauzers]

Due to the length of the source material, it would be impossible to film this particular story exactly as written, which Asimov did between the 1940s and the 1990s. As it is, I first read the original trilogy in 1965, (same year as Dune and Stranger In A Strange Land), still in junior high school. The public library was worth something in those days, they were very current about carrying newly published titles even science fiction.

I’ve waited for decades for this particular source material to make it to the screen; but I’m not sure the technology existed to do so until now.