'Foundation' Season 2 Interview: David S. Goyer

Moviefone speaks with David S. Goyer about 'Foundation' Season 2. "It's got to work for people that have never read the books," Goyer said of the series.

Premiering on Apple TV+ on July 14th is the second season of the popular series ‘Foundation,’ which is based on the stories of author Isaac Asimov, and was created David S. Goyer (‘Batman Begins’) and Josh Friedman (‘Fantastic Four’).

What is the plot of ‘Foundation’?

'Foundation' chronicles "The thousand-year 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."

What is the plot of ‘Foundation’ season 2?

More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in ‘Foundation’ season two. As the Cleons (Lee Pace, Terrence Mann and Cassian Bilton) unravel, a vengeful queen plots to destroy Empire from within. Hari (Jared Harris), Gaal (Lou Llobell) and Salvor (Leah Harvey) 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.

Who is in the cast of ‘Foundation’ season 2?

Jared Harris ('Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows') as Hari Seldon, Lee Pace ('Guardians of the Galaxy') as Brother Day, Lou Llobell ('Voyagers') as Gaal Dornick, Leah Harvey ('Fighting with my Family') as Salvor Hardin, Laura Birn ('A Walk Among the Tombstones') as Eto Demerzel, Kulvinder Ghir ('Blinded by the Light') as Poly Version, Terrence Mann ('Big Top Pee-wee') as Brother Dusk, and Cassian Bilton ("Shoal') as Brother Dawn.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with showrunner and executive producer David S. Goyer about the second season of ‘Foundation,’ what he learned from making the first season, Lee Pace’s compromising scene, adapting Isaac Asimov’s work, and what fans of the series can expect from the new season.

'Foundation' season 2 showrunner and executive producer David S. Goyer.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Goyer, Lou Llobell and Kulvinder Ghir.

Moviefone: To begin with, what did you learn from working on the first season of ‘Foundation’ that you were able to apply to the new season?

David S. Goyer: To introduce a little more levity. The show was very serious with a capital “S.” I think that the show is big enough that we could broaden our palette a bit to just make sure that we were staying true to these humanistic themes, and to introduce a little bit more romance as well, just all the stuff that makes for good television.

MF: There is a fight scene in the new season where actor Lee Pace must appear in the nude. How did he react when you pitched him that scene?

DSG: I was nervous. I pitched it to him, and he said, "Well, let me read it." I wrote the first draft, and I said, "What do you think?" He’s completely in his birthday suit. He said, "So I'm naked this whole scene." I said, "Yeah, and it involves a fight as well." He said, "It's going to be really hard to double me for this scene." I said, "Yeah, I don't think we can double you at all." But fortunately, he was game and he completely committed himself. He worked out like hell for it. But more importantly, he learned the fight choreography. He did not use a stunt double for that sequence at all, and he had to do the entirety of it, which we filmed over four days, completely nude. That is commitment.

Lee Pace in 'Foundation,' premiering July 14, 2023 on Apple TV+.

MF: Can you talk about adapting author Isaac Asimov’s work and how you decide what needs to change and what needs to remain cannon?

DSG: I have a gut instinct, but we have a healthy writers' room where we encourage debate, we talk about it and we try things out. Every once in a while, we'll try things out, we'll write it, and we'll say, "No, that's too far. That didn't work." Sometimes we say, "We need to go farther." Then occasionally, I will bounce things off Robyn Asimov, Isaac Asimov's daughter, who's an executive producer on the show. But over the years largely, I've come to primarily trust my gut. I try to wear both hats as a fan and a broader audience member. If we just made the show for the people that have read the books, I don't think the audience could support the show. So it's important to remember that those are a very passionate group of fans and audience members that we cherish. I count myself amongst them, but it's a small subset of our audience. The show's in over 100 countries, and it's got to work on a very broad scale. It's got to work for people that have never read the books or don't consider themselves fans of science fiction.

MF: Finally, what would you say to ’Foundation’ fans to prepare them for the new season?

DSG: Well, in season one, we did a couple of episodes that I like to call short films, where we do some extended flashbacks. It turned out those were very popular with the audience, and so we did a few more of those in season two. We get to peel back some of the layers of Harry's backstory, how he came to be in the employ of Empire, and how he came to Trantor. Near the tail end of the season, we get to peel back some of the layers of Demerzel, and how she came to be employee of the Empire. I think that's very surprising, and it ends up completely recontextualizing pretty much everything you know about Demerzel and Empire. I like to be able to turn things on its head, and so I was really excited for the audience to get to those two episodes in particular.