May the Light Never Dim: Lee Pace Confirms He’s in ‘Foundation’ Season 4

If you have the charismatic Lee Pace in your cast, you find a way to keep him around—even if, as that jaw-dropping Foundation season three finale suggested, things are looking rather grim for the character he plays. As fans will recall, Brother Darkness, formerly Brother Dusk, murdered his successor, Pace’s Brother Day, and ruthlessly wiped out all the Cleon clones waiting to fill their places over subsequent generations. He also annihilated Demerzel, the ancient android who could have potentially set the dynasty back on track. But! There’s still a surviving Brother Dawn kicking around the galaxy. He could age into Brother Day in season four. Also, the very end of season three revealed a pair of Demerzel’s cohorts hanging out on Earth’s moon, one of whom resembles Day and is seemingly played by Pace in that scene. There could also be flashbacks to Empire’s earlier days in store, when the Cleons were still ruling in three-part harmony. So Foundation season four will offer plenty of opportunities for the actor to return. Pace’s confirmed participation in the next season of the Apple TV series based on Isaac Asimov’s stories came in a Variety interview mostly tied to his role in Practical Magic 2. The article notes that Pace has “just wrapped season four of Apple TV’s science fiction saga Foundation, in which he’s played a succession of powerful, interrelated characters,” and reminds us that he’ll also be back in elf form to play Thranduil in 2027’s The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. So far there’s no word on when Foundation season four will arrive, but next year feels like a safe bet, not just for Foundation fans but the Lee Pace faithful too. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.