Brother Day wages war to cling to power in Foundation S2 trailer

Last month we got our first glimpse of the second season of Foundation, the Apple TV+ series based on Isaac Asimov's hugely influential Foundation series of novels, via a brief teaser. Now Apple TV has dropped the full official trailer, and it looks like we're definitely in for an all-out war between the ruling Cleons and the titular Foundation. (Some spoilers for S1 below.) 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. 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 dynasty. Brother Day (Lee Pace) is the primary ruler, with Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) serving in an advisory/legacy role. Meanwhile, Brother Dawn (played as a child by Cooper Carter and as a teenager by Cassian Bilton) is being groomed to take over as the new Brother Day. 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. Pace, Mann, and Bilton will reprise their roles as Brother Dusk and Brother Dawn, respectively. Also returning for S2 are Jared Harris as Hari Seldon; Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick; Leah Harvey as Salvor Hardin; and Laura Birn as Eto Demerzel, one of the last surviving androids from the ancient Robot Wars, who serves the Cleons. Newcomers joining the cast this season are Isabella Laughland as Brother Constant; Kulvinder Ghir as Poly Verisof; Ella-Rae Smith as Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion; Holt McCallany as Warden Jaegger Fount; Rachel House as Tellem Bond; Nimrat Kaur as Yanna Seldon; Ben Daniels as Bel Riose; and Dimitri Leonidas as Hober Mallow.

Per the official premise:

More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in Foundation season two. 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.

While last month's teaser focused primarily on Pace's Brother Day, this full trailer opens with Gaal Dornick in a strange land (and time), haunted by dreams of the future, namely "despair, death, destruction." And she has other reasons to be terrified, like the herds of flying beasts that seem to populate the world in which she finds herself. Meanwhile, Brother Day and his fellow Cleons are clinging to power. "An empire breathes respect," Brother Day says. "It requires it for its life. The Foundation is a threat to me."

The Foundation members are also struggling for survival, and Hari insists that in order to do so, "we have to face them," i.e., the forces of the Empire. Salvor, for one, is keen to be in the fight, and several action-packed scenes follow. "We fight for peace," Hari says. "Not because we fear we will lose, but because we know that if there is war, we will win." The second season of Foundation premiers on Apple TV+ on July 14, 2023. New episodes will air every Friday through September 15.