Apple’s Foundation Returns With New Crisis and New Villain

Apple TV+ has released the official trailer for the third season of the sci-fi epic Foundation, its expensive, visually grandiose series adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s classic sci-fi saga. The action-packed trailer drops major hints about the coming conflict —a new crisis of galactic proportions— and introduces one of Asimov’s most formidable villains: The Mule. Season 3 of Foundation will air on Apple TV+ beginning July 11, 2025, with a weekly release schedule ending on September 12.

As with the previous two seasons, Apple TV+ has not been afraid to deviate from Asimov’s original works. But the franchise, and Foundation, the novel, remain a connective tissue for the series. With big, often century-spanning jumps from one season to the next, the story has already established a chaotic period for Asimov’s Foundation universe. After the 138-year jump at the end of season 1, season 2 was set amid a historical event known as the Second Crisis, when war loomed between the Foundation and the ruling Galactic Empire. The Foundation itself had changed course, weaponizing the Faith of Mahaly—a key aspect of Asimov’s novels. Season 2 also introduced the secretive colony known as “The Mentalics,” a civilization of humans with powerful psionic talents.

Season 3, however, makes a longer jump still: 152 years into the future of season 2. This puts it squarely in what the franchise refers to as the Third Crisis. According to Apple TV+’s official description of the new season, the Foundation has become a more deeply entrenched and more successful society since its early days, and the ruling Cleonic Dynasty appears on the verge of collapse. Faced with threats both at home and from beyond their stars, the two galactic powers are pulled into an uneasy alliance. That is, until a force more powerful than either appears: a warlord with military might on a scale never seen before, and the uncanny power to control the emotions of others.

“He turned the galaxy into a weapon,” a grizzled Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) narrates over scenes of the coming conflict. “But our only chance was always the turning point.” Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), who has steadily gained in prominence over the past two seasons, also appears in the trailer, intoning a new sense of urgency. “We’re out of time.”

The trailer introduces the key villain, the Mule (Pilou Asbæk), as an ominous threat to galactic stability. “I can turn enemies into allies. Hate into love,” the character croons. “It only takes a little nudge.” The trailer features a series of big-budget action scenes involving more explosions, battles, and even cities collapsing under the weight of the unseen conflict.

Returning for the third season of Foundation are Lee Pace, Cassian Bilton, and Terrence Mann as the three imperial clones Brother Day, Brother Dawn, and Brother Dusk. Jared Harris returns to reprise his key role as Hari Seldon, and both Lou Llobell and Laura Birn reprise their roles as Gaal Dornick and Eto Demerzel, the powerful and mysterious human-like android. In terms of new characters, the most interesting are Alexander Siddig as Dr. Ebling Mis, a fervent disciple of Hari Seldon and autodidact psychohistorian; Troy Kotsur as Preem Palver, the leader of an entire psychic planet; and Cherry Jones as Foundation ambassador Quent. Also joining the cast are Brandon P. Bell as Han Pritcher, Synnøve Karlsen as Bayta Mallow, Cody Fern as Toran Mallow, Tómas Lemarquis as the flamboyant Magnifico Giganticus, Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing as Song, and Leo Bill as Mayor Indbur.

The Enemy of Everything

It may come as no surprise that Foundation’s central conceit and hero is Asimov’s notion of “psychohistory”—the fictional branch of science that marries mathematics and sociology to predict long-term patterns of history. But even psychohistory may be in question this season. While the Mule’s abilities don’t just affect battle strategy but tamper with characters’ emotional responses as well, he may represent a threat more primal than probabilities: the instinct to survive.

Aesthetically, the trailer and the series as a whole are visually assured, as the first two seasons were. With sweeping vistas of space, realized, rich cultures, and edge-of-your-seat spectacle, the trailer largely delivers on the series’ epic scale. But the emotional stakes have never felt higher. Season 3 will ask: Can the Empire and Foundation truly become allies? Can psychohistory endure this new enemy’s assault on reason? And if so, what does the future of this galaxy even look like?

Season 3 is already well-poised to answer these questions with bigger stakes, more developed characters, and even larger world-building. With episodes dropping weekly starting on July 11, fans of science fiction and simply big-budget television have plenty to look forward to.

The first two seasons of Foundation built the pieces of Seldon’s plan. Season 3 will test whether that plan can survive the impossible. The Mule may represent a threat not just to galactic peace, but to the very idea that the future of humanity can be predicted at all.