Apple Reveals For All Mankind Successor That Reinvents Its Sci-Fi Vision

Image: Apple

The Apple TV+ hit For All Mankind re-imagined the 1969 space race, presenting a timeline where the Soviet Union claimed the Moon first. Across five acclaimed seasons, showrunners Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi have charted a bold alternate history where humanity’s drive for exploration fostered a more inclusive, albeit turbulent, future.

Now, the creative team is heading back to the height of the Cold War with their latest project, Star City. A tense new trailer has just dropped, offering a glimpse at the prequel’s summer debut.

Centering on the secretive Soviet space hub first glimpsed in For All Mankind’s second season, the series shifts into the realm of a high-stakes psychological thriller. While the USSR currently holds the lead in the race to the stars, the constant pressure of the Cold War means their American adversaries are always lurking, desperate to bridge the technological divide.

At the heart of the intrigue is a mole embedded within the Soviet program, leaking classified blueprints for a lunar outpost. These designs originate from the Soviet Chief Designer—portrayed by House of the Dragon’s Rhys Ifans. While the character is known simply as the Chief Designer, he is a clear analog for Sergei Korolev. As Moore has noted, resurrecting this legendary architect of the Soviet space program is a fundamental pillar of the show’s divergent timeline.

The trailer captures the friction between the Chief Designer’s vision and the demands of Soviet bureaucrats, who are pushing to accelerate timelines at the cost of cosmonaut safety. Opposing him is Lyudmilla Raskova (Anna Maxwell Martin), the icy KGB lead in charge of security, who is relentless in her pursuit of internal threats. As state surveillance intensifies, the line between ally and enemy blurs, turning the facility into a pressure cooker where everyone is a suspect.

Star City makes its entrance just as For All Mankind approaches its final destination. Earlier this year, Apple confirmed that the flagship series will conclude with its upcoming sixth season, currently slated for 2027.

The first two episodes of Star City premiere on Apple TV+ on May 29, with subsequent episodes arriving every Friday through July 10.

Source: Polygon