Lee Pace and his Foundation co-stars’ fascinating approach to making each clone unique

One of the most striking things about Apple TV’s small-screen adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” book series is the trio of leaders at the top of the galactic organizational chart. Cleon’s three clones, played by Cassian Bilton (Brother Dawn), Lee Pace (Brother Day) and Terry Mann (Brother Dusk), form a defining element of the Imperial drama as the Galactic Empire crumbles. Although they literally come from the same stock (they’re all copies of the same dude), Pace said Wired that the similarities do not come from their shared DNA. This comes from their imperial culture. This is what he said:

“In the very first season, we created this idea that they sit around dinner and they do the same movements — that it’s a cultural thing between these three people. We had these technical ways of making their shared consciousness visual and actionable. We just practiced it. We imagined this little dance that we would do with these table scenes.”

Setting the Imperial Table in Season 1 set the stage for the drama to come once the Cleon gang began to feel the pressure not to conform. As a result, they started to come apart at the seams. In Pace’s words:

“In the second season, we did something different with it. We created this idea of ​​someone who’s not going to follow the rules, who’s just going to do it differently, whether the other brothers like it or not.”

This was clearly accelerated in season 3 when Brother Dawn helped the Second Foundation, Brother Day escaped from the palace (leading to the reveal of the true protagonist of “Foundation”), and Brother Dusk transformed into Brother Darkness, thus wiping out the genetic dynasty.

The concept that clones don’t behave identically is what gives this trio its spice. Rather than acting identically because they share DNA, they are trained in Imperial culture within the galactic court of Trantor. This is actually much more credible than an explanation that “they copy each other because they are copies of the same person.” History is littered with royal children who behaved the same way because of their upbringing, not their shared ancestry. Giving each Cleon clone an individual character was also a lot of fun for the actors. As Pace explained:

“I love working with Terry [Mann] and Cassian [Bilton] and Laura [Birn, who plays the robot Demerzel]. It’s such a unique concept that [writer and producer David S. Goyer] had with these cloned emperors who all live together as a family […] I think it’s a very original idea, and consistent with the questions asked by Asimov in ‘Foundation’ and his other works.”

As already mentioned, this family goes off the rails in Season 3. But as Pace noted in the interview, at this point the group has covered 300 years of continuous rule – so, overall, I think we can call this a successful mission. Nice work, guys. It ended in flames and death, but it was a slow dumpster fire worthy of “Foundation,” a story inspired by the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

The last thing we’ll point out here is that the uniqueness of Cleon’s clones is even more pronounced, given the fact that there are no such connections in Asimov’s sources. Of course, there is an emperor Cleon I, but he has never been cloned. He is present at the beginning of the story (in the prequels), but he ends up getting rid of this mortal coil, never to influence the debates again.

By extending the character through a cloning cycle, David S. Goyer (who was the original showrunner of “Foundation” before leaving after season 3) and company have created a recurring character who doesn’t just help tell the story of the fall of the Galactic Empire; he also personally witnesses it through an array of different iterations of his cloned self.

Now that cloning has come to an unexpected end with the conclusion of Season 3, what’s next? The question does not come from a lack of sources. In fact, it’s caused by having too much. Co-showrunners/executive producers Ian Goldberg and David Kob, who took over after Goyer’s departure, have previously said they are excited to take over, adding (in an official statement):

“We look forward to continuing the epic and emotional storytelling that defined the first three seasons of the series and working alongside some of the most talented and passionate creative partners in the industry.”

The new creations are ready. All we’re left to see is which part of Asimov’s sprawling “Foundation” universe they’ll tackle next. We have some thoughts on where ‘Foundation’ season 4 could gobut only time will tell for sure.

“Foundation” is currently streaming on Apple TV.