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Apple TV's 'Foundation': Isaac Asimov sci-fi epic's tortuous journey to the screen

The idea of adapting Isaac Asimov's mind-bending sci-fi saga 'Foundation' was pursued by enough production giants but fell flat in the attempts

If New Line Cinemas had its way, then the $1.5 million it spent in developing the 'Foundation' trilogy as a full-fledged film except the Isaac Asimov saga had to be benched as it signed on to produce another blockbuster trilogy, 'The Lord of the Rings'. The mythical tale raked in the moolah and was the highest-grossing film with $2.991Billion worldwide. In 2008, there were some developments again that  Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, the former New Line executives, who approved the production of Peter Jackson’s 'Lord Of The Rings', has signed on to produce a film adaptation of Asimov’s 'Foundation.'

For those unaware, Asimov's trilogy charts the fall of a defiant and cosmic Galactic empire and the group of academics who not just accurately predicted its downfall but also struggled to bring about the rise of the new republic. The film had also seen some developments at the 20th Century Fox offices where Vince Gerardis, the Emmy-winning co-executive producer on 'Game of Thrones' had worked with screenwriter Jeff Vintar trying to condense the trilogy into one film.

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Asimov's work has been considered as cult science-fiction literature, but the making of the series was always a challenge. Special effects to bring the author's imagination to life were outrightly expensive considering that these books cover five centuries and are broken down into mini-episodes with their own set of characters.

Discussions to bring 'Foundation' to the big screen continued when Sony bid for the rights in 2009 and tapped 'Independence Day' director Roland Emmerich to produce and direct the behemoth project with Michael Wimer as the co-producer. The studio roped in Dante Harper to adapt the books two years later and the project later failed to materialize. HBO acquired the rights in 2014 and The Wrap reported that Jonathan Nolan was producing a TV series this time for the network, and in 2017, Skydance media said it was on the project. Finally, Apple announced that it has commissioned a ten-episode series in 2018.

And now, the chapters are finally here. Created by David S Goyer and Josh Friedman, the series sticks to Asimov's vision while introducing some new concepts. Goyer, in an exclusive interview with BBC, hoped it would be an eight-season affair and had pitched a similar idea to Apple TV.  "I know the endpoint, I know what we're writing towards. I know the fate of all of the characters. In season one there are some story threads that we are laying that will hopefully be answered in future seasons. I'm in it for the long haul. I hope we get there," he said.

Only time will tell if Apple TV and Goyer have managed to enthrall audiences by making a series that is set to give sci-fi rigmaroles a run for their money.