‘Foundation’: Start Of Production Postponed On Apple TV+ Drama From Skydance

Lynette Rice
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE UPDATED: Re-start of production has been postponed on season 3 of Foundation, the Apple TV+ saga that’s based on Isaac Asimov’s trilogy.

Issues with budgeting and physical production/ prompted the delay of filming in Prague and Poland, which had been scheduled to begin this month, sources tell Deadline. Cast and crew who had already convened for the shoot were told to return home while production issues are sorted out, with the budget brought down. No new start date has been set.

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This is the second time Season 3 production has been paused on the series that stars Jared Harris and Lee Pace and chronicles the saga of The Foundation, a band of exiles who discover that the only way to save the Galactic Empire from destruction is to defy it. According to sources, the sci-fi drama filmed for several weeks in spring 2023 before shutting down due to the strike. About a third of Foundation’s third season is in the can, sources said.

In Foundation season two, which takes viewers more than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy. As the Cleons unravel, a vengeful queen plots to destroy Empire from within. Hari, Gaal, and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself. The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: war with Empire. The monumental adaptation of “Foundation” chronicles the stories of four crucial individuals transcending space and time as they overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity.

In addition to Pace and Harris, Foundation stars Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, Laura Birn, Cassian Bilton, Terrence Mann, Isabella Laughland, Kulvinder Ghir, Ella-Rae Smith, Holt McCallany, Rachel House, Nimrat Kaur, Ben Daniels and Dimitri Leonidas.

Foundation is produced for Apple by Skydance Television and led by showrunner and exec producer David S. Goyer and Skydance Television, the series was renewed in December. Goyer, with Alex Graves, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Bill Bost, and Robin Asimov also serving as executive producers.

Nellie Andreeva contributed to this report.

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