Why Foundation Season 3 Changes The Original Sci-Fi Novel's Biggest Villain [Exclusive]

Apple TV+ is home to the best sci-fi shows in all of television, showcasing the power and versatility of the genre. Arguably the streamer's best show is "Foundation," an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's epic sci-fi book series of the same name, which is hugely influential and also incredibly hard to adapt.

The show succeeds by remixing the books, heavily changing certain things in order to arrive at the same conclusion, as well as tweaking the tone to make the show more of a blockbuster, with epic action we only experience the aftermath of in the books. "Foundation" tells the story of the fall of a galactic empire, and the efforts by a group of scientists to prevent a dark age by establishing a rival nation called the Foundation, using psychohistory (math, basically) to predict large events and prepare for the future.

In season 3, "Foundation" is changing in one very big way: It's introducing a singular villain, one fans have been waiting for. Enter The Mule, here played by "Game of Thrones" actor Pilou Asbæk. Though heavily teased throughout the second season, The Mule makes his grand entrance in the first scene of the third season of the show, where he takes over an entire planet without firing a single shot.

It's a huge departure from the books, but one that Asbæk thought was important for the way the show is telling its story. As Asbæk told /Film during a press event ahead of the premiere of "Foundation" season 3, "It was very important to [creator David S. Goyer] that he felt like The Mule had to be a threat from the beginning. He was teased in season 2, but he needed to be a threat towards the Empire and towards Foundation from the top. And that's also the reason why [The Mule] opens season 3, so we know something new is coming and it's called chaos."

The other big change "Foundation" makes regarding The Mule is not exactly involving that character, but with the introduction of Magnifico Giganticus (Tómas Lemarquis). Magnifico is The Mule's jester, a musician who plays a fascinating sci-fi instrument called the visisonor (think an even cooler version of the baliset from "Dune") which is shown to produce both sound and also images. Magnifico is simultaneously The Mule's closest ally and his biggest threat, possibly even the key to bringing him down, and Foundation is going to try its darnedest to take advantage of that opportunity.

Involved in that plot are Toran (Cody Fern) and Bayta Mallow (Synnøve Karlsen), the former being a descendant of Hober Mallow, hero of the Foundation from season 2. This is how the show adapts the plot of the short story "The Mule" which tells the titular character's tale, while omitting that story's biggest plot twist of Magnifico being The Mule in disguise.

In "Foundation," the two personas are split in two, while still very much keeping the book's description of both. As Asbæk put it, "If you go back and you read Asimov's books, the way he's described The Mule in those books, they actually fit on Magnifico." Indeed, the character of Magnifico looks and feels straight out of the books, while allowing for The Mule to be a more traditional, physically imposing sci-fi villain that's a more recognizable threat. You get the best of both worlds. Sure, you lose the momentary thrill of the book's twist, but you gain the ability to keep both The Mule and the Magnifico personas long-term, while also making the season feel more focused.

The change to The Mule in season 3 of "Foundation" makes for a much better season of television. Now that virtually every character in the show is at least somewhat aware of the threat he poses to both Empire and Foundation, the entire season feels more focused, as every storyline is feeding into this one threat.

Part of the magic of "Foundation" is how it remixes Asimov's work, changing storylines to explore show-original ideas while still covering the same overall plot points of the original books. The show is great for both fans of Asimov and newcomers, because even if you know who the characters are meant to be, or how each new crisis is meant to be resolved, the show manages to find a way to subvert those assumptions and deliver plenty of surprises.

Season 3 is "Foundation" at its very best, the season that the show had been building toward since the start. This season, we get a genuine danger to the entire universe, one that couldn't be predicted by Hari Seldon's psychohistory. We also get a story that ties together many plot points from past seasons and ties to Asimov's Robot series in truly surprising and thrilling ways.

The premiere episode of "Foundation" season 3 is streaming now on Apple TV+, with new episodes dropping weekly.