Foundation season 2's final trailer has been released online – and it appears that the TV show's next installment has remedied one of the first season's biggest issues.
The hit Apple TV Plus TV series, which returns on July 14, was often criticized for its lack of huge, interstellar-based warfare in its first 10 episodes. That's something we regularly picked up on in our season 1 recaps – from Foundation episode 1 through Foundation episode 10 – too, with the sci-fi epic struggling to marry its weighty material, engrossing drama, and high-stakes action.
Based on Foundation season 2's third and final teaser, though, it seems we won't have any complaints about its big-budget, CGI-laden set-pieces. The two-minute trailer is packed with visually stunning, large-scale, explosive action sequences – and we'd go as far as to say that they're highly reminiscent of similar galactic battles we've seen in Star Wars and Star Trek. Color us impressed.
Take a look at the new trailer below:
It's not just the gorgeous, futuristic, and bold action sequences that make us extremely excited for Foundation season 2, however. The forthcoming war between Brother Day's tyrannical Empire and Hari Seldon's rebellious Foundation looks like it'll form a key part of the second season's overarching plot, but there are plenty of other intriguing elements of the trailer that might officially cement Foundation's place as one of the best Apple TV Plus shows around.
From Gaal Dornick and Salvor Hardin's adventures together – remember, thanks to some time-traveling aspects in the season 1 finale, they're actually mother and daughter – to more glimpses of the seemingly important Mentallics race, Foundation season 2 is going bigger and harder than its predecessor.
That's not all. We also get our first proper glimpse at Hober Mallow (a fan-favorite character from the Foundation book series), shots of some of the beautiful, albeit monster-ridden worlds we'll visit in the second season, more teases of the Second Seldon Crisis, and hints towards Gaal's increasingly powerful abilities to predict the future. Next month cannot come soon enough.
Foundation season 2's final trailer comes just over a month after its second teaser, which revealed its heavenly release date and showed off more of its epic, Star Trek-inspired visuals. Before then, the only news we'd received about the show's return was back in February 2022, when Apple released a first-look image of Brother Day confronting Hari Seldon (see above) alongside a bunch of new cast announcements.
For those who might have missed the second season's official story synopsis in May, too, here's a quick rundown of what'll play out:
"More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in Foundation season 2.
"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."
Foundation season 2 sees the return of Jared Harris (Hari Seldon), Lee Pace (Brother Day), Lou Llobell (Gaal Dornick), Leah Harvey (Salvor Hardin), Laura Birn (Eto Demerzel), Cassian Bilton (Brother Dawn), and Terrence Mann (Brother Dusk) from the first season.
Joining that group this time around are Isabella Laughland (Brother Constant), Kulvinder Ghir (Poly Verisof), Ella-Rae Smith (Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion), Holt McCallany (Warden Jaegger Fount), Rachel House (Tellem Bond), Nimrat Kaur (Yanna Seldon), Ben Daniels (Bel Riose) and Dimitri Leonidas (Hober Mallow).
Foundation season 2 launches with a one-episode premiere on Apple TV Plus on Friday, July 14. New episodes will be released weekly until the finale on Friday, September 15. While we wait for its arrival, check out these five sci-fi sagas to stream on Netflix, Disney Plus, and more.
