To hear the Foundation trailer tell it, the entire series has been leading to this: the introduction of The Mule (Pilou Asbæk). The previous teaser hinted at world-ending consequences to The Mule’s plotting and showed him warning, “I see something I like, I take it.” But the full-length trailer gives him the chance to go full villain-monologue mode, making it clear that The Mule is not someone to mess with ahead of the third season premiere July 11 on Apple TV+.
Set 152 years after the events of the previous installment, the third season sees The Foundation forging an “uneasy alliance” with the Cleonic Dynasty’s Empire. But the rise of The Mule threatens the entire galaxy, as evidenced by all the fretting everyone’s doing in the trailer. Hari (Jared Harris) and Brother Day (Lee Pace) have identified Gaal (Lou Llobell) as the only person who can stop him, but “The Mule’s abilities are far beyond anything I can do,” Gaal worries.
“You think I’m a monster?” The Mule questions during his starring moment in the Foundation trailer. “I have talents, you see. I can worm my way into people’s minds. Convert enemies into allies, hate into love. Nothing hectic, just a little nudge.” This galactic threat was previously played in a brief appearance by Mikael Persbrandt, but was recast before the character took center stage. Interestingly, the series has also cast a separate actor, Tómas Lemarquis (Blade Runner 2049), as Magnifico Giganticus, who in Isaac Asimov’s novels was merely a disguise for The Mule; fans will have to wait for July to see how the series adapts that twist for the screen.
“I will say, even in Season 1, there are little hints that we’ve embedded throughout the season that will point to some cards that we’re gonna turn over in Season 3,” Foundation showrunner David S. Goyer teased to Cinemablend back in 2023. “There’s another one that we’re gonna turn over in 4, and another one even beyond that. There were some unanswered questions in Season 1, we answered a lot of them later on in Season 2. But some of those cards are going to be turned over in Season 3.”
