‘Foundation’ Shakeup: David S. Goyer Stepping Back From Duties Amid Budget Clash

James Hibberd and Lesley Goldberg
·2 min read
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There’s a shakeup going on behind the scenes at Apple TV+’s lavish sci-fi drama Foundation.

Co-creator David S. Goyer is stepping back from his showrunner duties ahead of production resuming on the show’s upcoming third season. Goyer (Blade, The Dark Knight) will still be creatively involved with the show, contributing scripts from Los Angeles, while executive producer Bill Bost will be moving to Prague (where the show is filmed) to oversee the duration of season three photography. While sources say this means Goyer is effectively no longer serving as showrunner, a representative for the production says he will retain that title (contrary to an earlier version of this story).

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The show previously went on a production hiatus due to the Hollywood strikes and is expected to resume shooting March 6. About half the show’s third season was shot before the break.

In addition, line producer Laurie Borg is stepping down, with Doug Moreno taking his place.

Sources say Goyer and executives at the show’s production company, Skydance, clashed over the budget for the upcoming season. TV budgets are under scrutiny across the industry as streamers right-size their slates with an eye toward boosting profitability. In addition to being an executive producer on the show, Bost is the former president of Skydance’s TV division and helped originally develop the series.

The show’s crew was alerted to the changes earlier today.

It was previously reported that Goyer would also be stepping back as a director for the remaining episodes (he previously directed three episodes from the show’s first two seasons) and alternative directors for his episodes would be hired for season three.

Foundation is a centuries-spanning story based on Asimov’s landmark sci-fi novels, which the author in turn based on ideas Asimov took from Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The show stars Lee Pace and Jared Harris, and the first two seasons are on Apple TV+.

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