the future is worth fighting for The Third Crisis dawns in Foundation S3 teaser "If we fail, humanity will be lost forever. We act, or we lose." Jennifer Ouellette – May 7, 2025 12:15 pm | 2 Credit: Apple TV+ Credit: Apple TV+ Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more We have our first teaser for the upcoming third season of Foundation. It's been nearly two years, but the third season of Foundation, Apple TV+'s epic adaptation (or remix) of the Isaac Asimov series, is almost here. The streaming platform released an action-packed teaser of what we can expect from the new ten-episode season: the onset of the Third Crisis, a galactic war, and a shirtless Lee Pace. (Some spoilers for first two seasons below.) Showrunner David S. Goyer took great pains in S1 to carefully set up his expansive fictional world, and the scope only broadened in the second season. As previously reported, Asimov's fundamental narrative arc remains intact, with the series taking place across multiple planets over 1,000 years and featuring a huge cast of characters. Mathematician Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) developed a controversial theory of "psychohistory," and his calculations predict the fall of the Empire, ushering in a Dark Age period that will last 30,000 years, after which a second Empire will emerge. The collapse of the Empire is inevitable, but Seldon has a plan to reduce the Dark Ages to a mere 1,000 years through the establishment of a Foundation to preserve all human knowledge so that civilization need not rebuild itself entirely from scratch. He is aided in this endeavor by his math prodigy protegé Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell). The biggest change from the books is the replacement of the Empire's ruling committee with a trio of Eternal Emperor clones called the Cleons—a genetic triune dynasty comprised of Brother Day (Pace), Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann), and Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton). Technically, they are all perfect incarnations of the same man at different ages, and this is both the source of their strength as a team and of their conflicts. Their guardian is an android, Eto Demerzel (Laura Birn), one of the last surviving androids from the ancient Robot Wars, who is programmed to protect the dynasty at all costs. The first season ended with a major time jump of 138 years, and S2 focused on the Second Crisis: imminent war between Empire and the Foundation, along with an enemy seeking to destroy Empire from within. The Foundation, meanwhile, adopted the propaganda tactics of religion to recruit new acolytes to the cause. We also met a colony of "Mentalics" with psionic abilities. Goyer stepped down as showrunner after S2 but has reportedly remained very much involved with production. And we're getting another mega time jump for the Third Crisis. Per the official premise: Set 152 years after the events of S2, The Foundation has become increasingly established far beyond its humble beginnings while the Cleonic Dynasty’s Empire has dwindled. As both of these galactic powers forge an uneasy alliance, a threat to the entire galaxy appears in the fearsome form of a warlord known as “The Mule” whose sights are set on ruling the universe by use of physical and military force, as well as mind control. It’s anyone’s guess who will win, who will lose, who will live, and who will die as Hari Seldon, Gaal Dornick, the Cleons and Demerzel play a potentially deadly game of intergalactic chess. Most of the main cast is returning: Pace, Bilton, Mann, Harris as Llobell, and Birn, as well as Rowena King as legendary mathematician Kalle. Pilou Asbæk plays the Mule, briefly introduced in S2. New S3 cast members include Cherry Jones, Brandon P. Bell, Synnøve Karlsen, Cody Fern, Tómas Lemarquis, Alexander Siddig, and Troy Kotsur. The third season of Foundation premieres on July 11, 2025, on Apple TV+. New episodes will air weekly through September 12, 2025. A few first look images are featured in the gallery below. Jared Harris returns as Hari Seldon. Apple TV+ Jared Harris returns as Hari Seldon. Apple TV+ The Cleons: Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton), Brother Day (Lee Pact), and Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann). Apple TV+ The Cleons: Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton), Brother Day (Lee Pact), and Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann). Apple TV+ Laura Birn as the android Demerzel. Apple TV+ Laura Birn as the android Demerzel. Apple TV+ The Cleons: Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton), Brother Day (Lee Pact), and Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann). Apple TV+ Laura Birn as the android Demerzel. Apple TV+ Lou Llobell as Gaal. Apple TV+ Pilou Asbæk as the Mule. Apple TV+ Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 2 Comments