Foundation season 2 is one of the most highly anticipated Apple TV Plus original productions right now. The epic sci-fi series was renewed by Apple in October 2021, and fans are eager for the show's next instalment to land on its streaming platform.
It could be a while before that happens, though. Outside of a first-look image and new cast announcements , which landed online in February, things are quiet on the Foundation front. Still, we know filming is currently taking place – one prominent cast member recently confirmed that principal photography was occurring in the Canary Islands. So the Apple TV Plus show 's production is in full swing.
We thought that Foundation's first season got better as it went on , especially once it managed to navigate its tricky teething problems in earlier episodes . The season 1 finale left things on a cliffhanger, too, so we're intrigued to see how its second season picks up these plot threads and runs with them.
For now, though, you can read up on everything worth knowing about Foundation season 2 on Apple TV Plus below. You'll learn more about its potential release date, returning cast members, specific plot points, and more. Spoilers follow for Foundation season 1, as well as Isaac Asimov's convoluted sci-fi novel series.
Foundation season 2 release date: what we know
Foundation season 2 doesn't have an official release date yet. But, based on an Apple TV Plus press release, we know that filming is underway.
Speaking to Collider in later 2021, showrunner David S. Goyer revealed that season 2 was likely to enter production in 2022, but declined to elaborate further on how much of season 2 had been written so far.
Fortunately, one of Foundation’s main cast members was more forthcoming about where season 2 is on the production line. Leah Harvey, who plays Salvor Hardin, told TVLine that “we’ve already started work on season 2,” so some aspects of development have started to move into gear.
And that's certainly the case. As we mentioned earlier, Apple unveiled a first look image for Foundation season 2 on February 1, 2022. The photograph doesn't give much away, but we know that Lee Pace's Brother Day is set to verbally clash with Jared Harris' Hari Seldon. Well, the AI construct of Seldon's consciousness, anyway, what with Seldon dying in the show's second episode.
Take a look at the image below:
Since then, Harvey has also provided a brief update on where Foundation season 2 is being filmed. The Foundation star took to Instagram on March 16 to reveal that principal photography was taking place on Furteventura in the Canary Islands. So expect more sand, desert, and oceanside-based locations in the show's next entry:
Despite filming being underway, we wouldn't expect season 2 to arrive on our screens until early 2023. Yes, filming on this season shouldn't take as long as the first – season 1 was disrupted by the ongoing pandemic – but there's still plenty of work to carry out, including what's likely to be a very long post-production phase. So don't expect Foundation season 2's arrival for a long time yet.
Foundation season 2 plot: what will the story be about?
Full spoilers follow for Foundation season 1.
While fans of Isaac Asimov’s novel series may think they know where season 2’s story will go, the source material can’t be relied upon to reveal any major story beats. Why? Because, although the creators used the books as a basis for Foundation’s TV adaptation, the show had largely diverged from the books by its season 1 finale.
Still, there are plenty of unresolved plot threads and storylines that need to be picked up and addressed. And, based on comments made by the cast and crew, we have a few pointers about the direction they may go in.
Goyer explained that answers to some of season 1’s open-ended plot points will be resolved in future seasons, telling Collider : “If there's a question that we haven't answered, there's a reason why we haven't answered it. It's not because we forgot about it. It's ‘watch this space’.”
Goyer was, though, happy to tease how certain season 1 events may impact its successor.
One of the biggest moments in the season 1 finale was the revelation that Brothers Dawn, Day and Dusk – portrayed by Cassian Bilton, Lee Pace and Terrence Mann – are not identical clones of Cleon I. After Eto Demerzel (Laura Birn) killed Dawn’s current incarnation due to genetic differences that supposedly made him an impure clone, it’s revealed that all of Cleon’s clones are genetically unique. An anti-Empire resistance group, that included Dawn’s ex-lover Azura, had tampered with the DNA of Cleon I’s host body decades earlier, ensuring that none of the Empire’s current rulers are identical clones of Cleon I.
Speaking to Newsweek post-finale, Goyer teased what this shock reveal may mean for this triumvirate in season 2.
“Part of the fun of the show moving forward [is] we'll be seeing how different the various Cleons are,” Goyer said. “It's part of the jazz that we're playing with Terrence, Cassian and Lee because, even though they're the same actors, some of the characters are going to be very different. One of the things that's exciting about this monkey wrench, that's thrown into the Genetic Empire, is what does that do when you introduce chaos into that system?”
For Pace, the Great Spiral pilgrimage that Day undertook in episode 8 foreshadowed the season 1 finale’s big Empire reveal. Speaking to The Wrap , Pace said: “He looks at his brothers and especially his younger brother [Dawn], who is now shown to be different in all of these ways, and is basically screaming ‘Me too.’ I feel the same way you feel. I know we are living under this fantasy that we are all the same man, and I know better now. I can’t un-see what I’ve seen. I can’t forget. I can’t believe that I am Cleon. I have to now believe that I am this person after what I’ve experienced. I think it forever changes the culture inside the dynasty.”
The other major plot point from episode 10 confirmed a series-long fan theory: that Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey) is the daughter of Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell). The episode’s final scene is reserved for their overdue meeting – albeit 138 years into the future. As viewers will remember, Gaal froze her embryo in episode 2. That fertilized egg would go on to become Salvor, who lives on Terminus over a century later. The only reason Gaal and Salvor eventually meet is because of the show’s time travel elements, as well as Gaal entering cryostasis for decades at a time.
While Goyer was coy about whether the duo’s relationship will potentially grow in season 2, the series’ showrunner did provide some context for how Gaal may react to Salvor’s declaration. And, given their respective time travel adventures, how Gaal is strangely younger than her daughter when they’re reunited.
“The story of Gaal and Salvor… I would say the closest analogy would be if someone gave up a child at birth and didn't even know what happened to them,” Goyer told Newsweek. “And then one day that adult child knocks on their door and says, 'Hey, mom'. What's a little different is that, at least biologically, Salvor's a few years older than Gaal, which is one of the fun things that you can only do in science fiction. I think Salvor's about 26 or 27 years old, and Gaal is only about 23 years old, 22 years old.”
As for Hardin, the actor told TVLine : “These two characters are complete strangers and we'll get to dive into how they navigate this new relationship, as well as the world around them bringing new challenges [in season 2]. They both have traveled years into the future, and for all they know, everything they knew has been left behind. They, potentially, only have each other left. It’s a profound emotion to contemplate, but it is something that requires time to process. Whether or not they have the luxury of time is another question entirely.”
And what of the Second Foundation, which fans of Asimov’s book series already know about? As Hari Seldon previously teased, he set up two Foundations at opposite ends of the galaxy – one which the Empire knows about and one that it doesn’t. So will season 2 deliver on showing viewers where the secret society is and what its purpose is?
“It's definitely something we're going to explore,” Goyer told Newsweek. “I didn't bring it up just to not mention it again. One of the other things about the Second Foundation in the books is that the Second Foundation also largely develops off-screen, at least in the original trilogy. It appears almost as a deus ex machina. And I thought, for viewers of the show, that wouldn't be playing fair, that we had to see the Second Foundation develop.”
Expect the Second Foundation to play as prominent a role in the new season as the First Foundation did in season 1, then. Not only that, but a Second Seldon Crisis is likely to form a large part of the series’ second season, too. The alliance that eventually formed between Terminus, Thespis and Anacreon in season 1 allowed the trio of outer-rim planets to navigate the First Crisis. But, as Hari’s AI construct told all three races in episode 10, more challenges will be on the way. So it’ll be interesting to see how those Seldon Crises are adapted from the novels for TV purposes.
Foundation season 2 cast: who is returning?
These are the actors who will return for season 2:
Season 2 will introduce new characters, too. As part of Foundation season 2’s announcement, Goyer confirmed (via an Apple TV Plus press release) that more live-action incarnations of classic characters from Asimov’s novels will appear in the show’s next instalment.
"With season two, our audience will get to visit more of Asimov’s indelible characters and worlds, including Hober Mallow, General Bel Riose, and all the Outer Suns,” Goyer explained. “We’re playing the long game with Foundation and I’m grateful to my partners at Apple and Skydance for entrusting me with this epic. Buckle up. We’re about to fold some serious space."
And now we know who some of those characters will be. In a separate press release, Apple confirmed the identities of 10 new individuals, as well as the actors who will portray them:
Interestingly, Poly Verisof, The Warlord of Kalgan, Bel Riose, and Hober Mallow are the only four of those 10 characters who appear in the books. So the other six, Yanna Seldon included, are entirely new creations for the TV series.
Foundation season 2 trailer: is there one?
No, and there won’t be for some time. We'll update this section when one is released.
Foundation season 2: will there be more seasons?
Apple has only renewed Foundation for another 10-episode run, but we’d be shocked if more seasons aren’t forthcoming. Speaking to Lovin Malta back in January 2021, Goyer revealed his ambitions to tell Foundation’s vast and epic tale – which spans one thousand years of fictional human history – across 80 episodes.
“Game of Thrones was really the first of these big, giant novelistic shows,” Goyer said. “And now, with Foundation, we can tell the story, hopefully, over the course of 80 episodes, or 80 hours, as opposed to trying to condense it all into two or three hours for a single film.”
Goyer also confirmed (via Collider ) that he initially pitched an 80-episode story to Apple before they greenlit the show’s first run of episodes. And, if Foundation does run for eight seasons as Goyer hopes, he already has the show’s ending in mind, saying: “I do have an endpoint in mind, at least for now, I do know where all the major characters land and what happens at the end of it. Hopefully, we'll get there.”
If each season comprises 10 entries, Foundation might run for eight seasons. However, Apple’s continual renewal of Foundation will depend on whether audiences continue to tune in. Apple is notoriously guarded about releasing viewing figures for its in-house movies and TV shows – so much so that no data for season 1’s episodes is publicly available.
For now, then, Foundation will get a second season, but its future is unknown past that point. Its first season found its feet with each episode and, providing season 2 can improve on the series’ first outing, it should be renewed by Apple during (or after) season 2’s release. Should it fail to attract viewers, however, Foundation may not survive past its second season.
Realme's next cheap phone has a weird color-changing back
We're expecting the Realme 9 series to launch very soon, as the company has been teasing the upcoming phone's Pro and Pro Plus models recently, and the latest piece of information shows us the rear of the phone.
As you can see from the picture above, this isn't just your average smartphone design, as the Realme 9 Pro models will use a color-changing glass back. This will change from blue to red depending on how the light is hitting it, and it sounds a lot like the Vivo V23 in this regard, which has a gold-blue shifting pattern.
Realme calls this its 'Grace Color', using a 'Light Shift Design', although those are really just its marketing terms for what you or I would call a 'groovy'.
We've seen a few phones over the years with similar designs, but it's hard to capture these effects in a single image. So while the imagery Realme has provided is a guide, we'd recommend looking for a video or checking out the phone in person.
In addition, Realme has provided some other design details, including the 9 Pro's weight of 182g and thickness of 7.99g – both suggest this will be quite a dainty phone, and that's also suggested by the image above. Realme's previous numbered phones have been handy compact handsets, and it sounds like the new ones will follow that trend.
Analysis: the Realme 9 Pro is making a splash
Just one day prior to the Realme 9 Pro design unveiling, the company's Vice President announced that the phone will also feature a heart rate monitor .
In our analysis section for that news report, we said the feature sounded interesting, although for Realme to make its 9 Pro series stand out it needed even more novel or cutting-edge tools and extras.
Well, this color-changing design is exactly the kind of thing we had in mind; Realme now has our attention, and the 9 Pro phones could really make a splash.
We don't know when the phones will launch just yet, but hopefully we'll hear about even more cool features like this before the official debut.
Saying that, we hope Realme doesn't betray its numbered phone series' legacy of being great affordable mobiles by hiking the price too much.
Windows 11 update gives Paint another brush-up for its menus
Microsoft continues to refine one of its oldest apps in an upcoming Windows 11 update, with Paint seeing more improvements in its design for picking colors, resizing objects, and more.
While Microsoft's recent update brought emojis to Notepad and the return of Windows Media Player , Paint had previously seen a refreshed design to match the overall look of Windows 11, but a dark mode is nowhere to be seen for now.
With Sun Valley 2 , the first major update scheduled to come in the second half of 2022, we may see further improvements to Paint to help quickly repair or resize photos to send over WhatsApp.
But these latest changes make us wonder what could be next for Paint, or another app that's yet to receive a similar refresh.
Analysis: Can Maps be next to see a refresh?
Now that Paint is about to see more of its context menus get a modern refresh to match its previous updates, a future update of Windows 11 looks to unify more of its older apps with its new ones soon.
With Paint, Snipping Tool , and Notepad all receiving refreshes in their design to match Windows 11, there have also been some apps that have seen a change of name.
Command Prompt recently changed to Terminal, while Groove Music also changed to Windows Media Player.
But there are still other apps that would benefit from a refresh. Maps is a good example, with a design that looks confused, almost Frankenstein-ish that resembles Windows 8 , Windows 10 , and parts of Windows 11 all in one interface.
The maps displayed in the app are all in low-resolution, so if you're using a PC with a 4K monitor for example, expect to see crooked lines all across your route.
The windows for choosing a route also mimic the look of Windows 8, so if Microsoft is looking at other apps to refresh, Maps is a great candidate, especially when you look at how good the Maps app is in macOS 12 Monterey .
But regardless, it's encouraging to see the company constantly refine and improve its older apps for a new Windows release, and with Paint looking more like an app for 2022, hopefully we'll see Maps see the same kind of attention soon.
Via Windows Latest