Posted in: Apple, Preview, TV | Tagged: for all mankind

For All Mankind Creators Preview Season 5's Earth vs Mars Escalation

Apple TV+'s For All Mankind creators Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi preview the growing political tensions between Earth and Mars in Season 5.

As we draw closer to For All Mankind season five, creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi have a lot on their plate not only topping the climactic season four closing heist that saw the Happy Valley base led by Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) make off with the resource-rich asteroid that could have shaped the future for Earth and Mars. In the case of the Earth, it means refocusing on the international space program, but for Mars, it meant self-preservation, knowing those who work on the planet still have jobs for the foreseeable future. On the second front, they're also building on the AppleTV+ sci-fi franchise with its first spinoff, Star City, which parallels the events of the core series but is told from the Soviet perspective. The trio spoke to Collider at San Diego Comic-Con about what fans could expect for the upcoming season.

For All Mankind Creators on How Season Five Escalates Earth Vs Mars

The premise of For All Mankind is a revisionist version of the US-Soviet space race that sees the USSR landing on the moon instead of the US, the political events afterward, and the dramatic advancements in space technology globally. The Soviet Union never fell, and both countries collaborated with others to build a bigger presence in space from their existing international space station, a moon base, and a Martian base.

As far as where the series is at, Wolpert shares, "We can say that, obviously, season four ended with an asteroid being stolen, and so there are a lot of people on Earth who are pretty pissed off about that. I think that more than anything, I would say the thrust of the season five story is how a rift is forming between the people who live on Mars, and more and more people are now living on Mars, and the people who have stayed back on Earth. And so, this show that started with a US versus USSR Cold War is now developing into a Mars versus Earth political schism, and how that impacts all of the characters we've come to know and love is really fun."

Regarding whether Krys Marshall's Danielle Poole (one of the few mainstays since the first season) will return, considering she returned to Earth after nearly getting mortally wounded, "That's for you to find out with Season 5. That's part of the fun of the show is that, obviously, the characters every season evolve. The cast from season one to now, it's crazy to see how many people are left, and we bring in new people," Nedivi said. "We're actually going to bring in new people for season five, as well. So I think we like to keep people around. It depends on their story and if their arcs are done. I think part of the fun is not knowing who's going to be back, and we'll keep it at that."

With each season, For All Mankind expands into the next decade. The technology of season four is already beyond advanced of the current space program as it creeps closer to the present day. "The strange thing about the show is the further you go, the more sci-fi it is. We've prided ourselves on talking about the era in which 'For All Mankind' is set, and I think this is the first time we're getting the 2010s," Nedivi said. "The butterfly effect has gotten to a point now where we're so far from where we started in the '70s that part of our alt history is now based on the alt history we already created. So, even that early montage that starts the season, what's fascinating to me in watching it this year is how many of the storylines in the first two seasons, a lot of it was stuff that you're familiar with — presidents, prime ministers that you're familiar with, stories, and how news has changed. This season is so much about what 'For All Mankind' has changed in history and what impact our characters have had, and I think that really is a cool evolution of the show, that we're going there, and that we're getting close to the present. I mean, that's unbelievable."

For more, including how far along season five is in filming, when it could be released, working on both shows, and more, you can check out the complete interview. For All Mankind, which also stars Wrenn Schmidt, Cynthy Wu, Coral Pena, Edi Gathegi, Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing, Svetlana Efremova, and Daniel Stern, is available on AppleTV+.

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