Foundation season 2: Release date, trailer, cast, and how to watch

The Apple TV+ adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novel series is getting a second season, with Apple having already confirmed a release date window and it’s even released a teaser trailer. Here is everything you need to know about Foundation season two, including who came back for the new installment and what you can expect.

Foundation season 2: What to expect

THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW.

Foundation follows the psychohistorian Hari Seldon (played by Jared Harris), as he comes up with a formula that predicts the end of the Galactic Empire and the destruction of humanity. To preserve knowledge, Hari helps build the Foundation, a group of rebels that defy the Empire. The story spans hundreds of years, with multiple groups warring to control the destiny of humankind.

The first season of Foundation premiered in September 2021, and Apple renewed it for a second season a month later. Although it has released a first-look image for season two and a trailer, it hasn’t divulged too many details about what to expect. One can assume Lee Pace’s Brother Day will face off with Harris’ Hari Seldon – or at least the AI representation of his consciousness, given Seldon died.

Another big reveal in season one is that Brothers Dawn, Day, and Dusk – portrayed by Cassian Bilton, Lee Pace, and Terrence Mann – respectively, are not identical clones of Cleon I. Decades before, an anti-Empire resistance group tampered with the DNA of Cleon I’s body, so none of the Empire’s current rulers are identical clones of Cleon I. This is a huge unresolved plotline.

Season two should explore the Second Foundation, too. The First Foundation is the focus of season one. Seldon set up two Foundations at two ends of the galaxy – one which the Empire knows about and one that it doesn’t. A Second Seldon Crisis should also make up the bulk of the series’ second season. The first trailer for the new season dwells on the Foundation’s sacrifices – how they left their homes and lives for their goal. But the Foundation is still tasked with rebuilding society, and they apparently go through the Crisis of Religion, with leaders using words of the divine to control people struggling after the fall of the Empire.

Another major plot point from season one involves Salvor Hardin (played by Leah Harvey), the daughter of Gaal Dornick (played by Lou Llobell). Gaal froze her embryo in episode two, and that fertilized egg became Salvor, who lives on Terminus over a century later. Gaal and Salvor eventually meet because of the show’s time travel storyline and Gaal entering cryostasis for decades. In season two, Foundation may show Gaal’s reaction to Salvor when they’re reunited, which should be odd for them considering Salvor is older than her mother. Salvor is about 26 or 27 years old, while Gaal is only about 22 or 23 years old in the show.

If you’ve read the Foundation series by sci-fi author Isaac Asimov, you can probably predict where Foundation’s second season might go. But keep in mind Apple could continue to deviate from the source material.

Foundation season 2: Cast

Here’s who is returning for Foundation season two:

Jared Harris as Hari SeldonLee Pace as Brother DayLou Llobell as Gaal DornickLeah Harvey as Salvor HardinLaura Birn as Eto DemerzelTerrence Mann as Brother DuskCassian Bilton as Brother Dawn

Foundation season two will also introduce new characters in addition to new worlds. Apple has confirmed at least 10 new characters, as well as the actors who will play them (see below for the full list). Interestingly, out of the 10 characters, Poly Verisof, The Warlord of Kalgan, Bel Riose, and Hober Mallow are the only ones who appear in the novels. The other six are completely new constructs.

Isabella Laughland as Brother ConstantKulvinder Ghir as Poly VerisofSandra Yi Sencindiver as Enjoiner RueElla-Rae Smith as Queen Sareth of Cloud DominionDimitri Leonidas as Hober MallowBen Daniels as Bel RioseHolt McCallany as Warden Jaegger FountMikael Persbrandt as The Warlord of KalganRachel House as Tellem BondNimrat Kaur as Yanna Seldon