Interstellar’s Jonathan Nolan to adapt Isaac Asimov’s Foundation for HBO

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

INTERSTELLAR scribe Jonathan Nolan is teaming with Warner Bros. TV and cable giant HBO for an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction novel series "Foundation", with Nolan set to write and produce, according to The Wrap.

Originally published as a series of eight short stories in "Astounding Magazine" beginning in 1942, "Foundation" offers a complex saga about…

…humans who are scattered on planets throughout the galaxy, living under the rule of the Galactic Empire. A psycho-historian who can scientifically read the future sees an imminent empire collapse, and sets to work preparing to save the knowledge of mankind.

Some of you may recall that "Foundation" was once set to be adapted into a film by STARGATE's Roland Emmerich. When the project failed to materialize, HBO spent big bucks to acquire the property when it became available earlier this summer.

Nolan, who is already working with HBO on “Westworld,” has been quietly developing the project for the last several months. He recently tipped his hand to Indiewire, which asked him, ‘what's the one piece of science fiction you truly love that people don't know enough about?’. Nolan responded with…

“Well, I fucking love the ‘Foundation’ novels by Isaac Asimov. They're certainly not [unknown], but that's a set of books I think everyone would benefit from reading. That's a set of books where the influence they have is just fucking massive. They have many imitators and many have been inspired by them, but go back and read those, and there are some ideas in those that'll set your fucking hair on fire.”

No word on how many episodes this series will contain or if it will be set up as a miniseries, however the books have enough material to last a very long time. This sounds like an intriguing project, both for Nolan and for HBO.