Sci-Fi Storm

We’ve been following attempts at producing some form of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels into some form of video media – it has long been considered “unfilmable”, given the complex stories and long time span they cover. We’ve been waiting pretty much since we started this site 17 years ago. We’ve seen various writers, producers, directors and studios involved, most recently with Sony and Roland Emmerich involved starting in 2009, and adding Dante Harper (Alien: Covenant) in 2011 as a writer followed by Jonathan Nolan (Interstellar). And like every other attempt, it vaporized.

Now Skydance Television wants a shot at it, and they are putting up David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman as collateral.

According to Deadline, Skydance is aiming at a TV series, with Goyer (Man of Steel) and Friedman (Avatar 2) working on a script. The Foundation series of novels center around mathematician Hari Seldon, who develops a new system of mathematics called “psychohistory”, which can model at a grand scale what will happen in the future – and Seldon discovers that the Galactic Empire, which consists of humans populating millions of other worlds, is in danger of imminent collapse and could lead to a Dark Age that could last thousands of years.

Interestingly, the Deadline article mentions one of the difficulties of adapting Foundation is because of Star Wars – because the latter was influenced by Asimov’s themes and the similarities would make it appear like a ripoff – even though Foundation‘s origins were in short stories published starting in 1942. And with Star Wars finding a massive resurgence, that could even make it more difficult – or an easier sell.

It has a long, very steep trajectory out of the gravity well still, but here’s hoping.