Apple TV+'s 100% sci-fi franchise gets a major movie star boost

(Image credit: Apple)

By Rik Henderson

published 5 February 2025

in News

Quick Summary

The spin-off series to For All Mankind has cast its first major star – Rhys Ifans.

Star City will tell the alternative history space race story from the Soviet Union's perspective.

Apple TV+ has become synonymous with sci-fi since its launch just over five years ago. Shows like Silo, Severance and Foundation have given the streaming service a great reputation for quality genre television.

However, the show that's really set the tone for the service almost since day one is For All Mankind. Gaining an elusive 100% rating for its latest season by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the show can seemingly do no wrong. It's also why Apple commissioned a spin-off series, Star City.

Announced last spring, the spin-off will be set in the same alternative timeline as For All Mankind but will tell a story from the perspective of the Soviet Union. It'll start with one of the pivotal moments seen in its parent show (which we'll refrain from repeating here due to spoilers) and focus on the Russian cosmonauts instead.

Little else is known about Star City at present and it's unlikely to appear on Apple TV+ until at least 2026, although we have learned (via Variety) that it will star British actor Rhys Ifans as the chief designer of the Soviet Space program.

Ifans has appeared in numerous genre movies and TV shows, including House of the Dragon, where he plays Otto Hightower, and The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home, as Dr Connors/The Lizard.

His biggest break arguably came when he was cast in Notting Hill at the end of the 90s, starring alongside Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, while he's also appeared in a Harry Potter film – The Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

His casting shows that For All Mankind's creators, Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi, are keen to have Star City hit the ground running. Certainly, Apple will want to keep the momentum going on its sci-fi hits.

If you've not yet watched For All Mankind, now's a great time to start. All four seasons are currently on Apple TV+, which costs £8.99 / $9.99 / AU$12.99 per month for a single-user subscription. New members also get a 7-day free trial, so you could binge the entire run for free.

For All Mankind — Official Trailer | Apple TV+ - YouTube

Watch On

Apple has confirmed that there's a season 5 coming too, so once you've finished, there's more to come in the future.

TOPICS

Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.

Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.