Isaac Asimov's seminal FOUNDATION book series is one of those white whales, like RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA, that seems like it would never see the light of day. Not only is it a sprawling, multi-character, and complexly political work, but also many of its best ideas have already been cannibalized by things like STAR WARS (a similar problem JOHN CARTER faced). So the challenge to adapting Asimov's work has not only been to condense and streamline the complicated narrative, but also to not make it look hopelessly derivative.
And the people tasked to take on this challenge are MAN OF STEEL's David Goyer and TERMINATOR: SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLE's Josh Friedman. According to Deadline, "Skydance Television is closing a deal with the Asimov estate to try turning Foundation into a sprawling TV series", which makes sense. With the success of GAME OF THRONES and other epic shows like AMERICAN GODS, it seems like TV might be a better place for something like FOUNDATION. It allows for characters, storylines, and themes to breathe and…well, exist (as Hollywood film adaptations are notorious for condenscing or deleting entire subplots).
Now, I don't hate Goyer as much as some people do (I enjoy BLADE and BATMAN BEGINS too much), and he especially works better in collaborations (as BLADE II I feel is superior due to his input from Guillermo del Toro, and even BEGINS was a collaboration with Christopher Nolan), so I don't think this is hopeless. And while Josh Friedman's TERMINATOR: SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES isn't universally beloved (or great), I feel it was a lot better than it had any right to be. So I have hope, if not high hopes.
But what about you Schmoes? Do you think FOUNDATION is in the right hands? Sound off below, either way!
This is all in its early stages of course, so no release date yet. But we'll keep you posted.
