Apple TV Officially Changed For All Mankind’s Timeline Years Before Fans Noticed

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The Apple TV+ series For All Mankind presents a fascinating ‘what if’ scenario, imagining a different course for history. It began in November 2019 with a twist on the Moon landing: instead of the United States being first, the Soviet Union landed on the Moon earlier in 1969. This single change sparked a continued Space Race, leading to faster technological advancements and ultimately, human exploration reaching as far as Mars and now, Titan. While the show explores this altered timeline, the core difference driving the story may not be what many viewers initially expect.

Though many believe Alexei Leonov’s initial moon landing is where the alternate history of For All Mankind began, that’s not actually the case. The real turning point happened several years earlier, and the show’s new spinoff series is perfectly positioned to finally show us what it was. For All Mankind has already been praised for its detailed exploration of over 40 years of this changed timeline, and the story is continuing to unfold.

For All Mankind’s Point of Divergence Occurred in January 1966

While the actual Moon landing happened on July 20, 1969, the show For All Mankind depicts the Soviets landing first, on June 26, 1969. This significant event in the show’s timeline wouldn’t have occurred without the contributions of Sergei Korolev.

Sergei Korolev, the name behind a recently highlighted crater, was the Soviet Union’s chief rocket engineer and spacecraft designer during the Space Race – similar to how Werner von Braun led the American effort. He was the key inventor behind the R-7 rocket and Sputnik 1, the very first artificial satellite to orbit Earth.

He played a key role in sending numerous things—and people—into space, including Laika, Yuri Gagarin, and Alexei Leonov. Throughout the 1960s, Korolev struggled with health problems and sadly died during an operation on January 14, 1966.

As a huge fan of the show, I always found it fascinating that For All Mankind explores a ‘what if’ scenario. What if Sergei Korolev, the brilliant mind behind the early Soviet space program, hadn’t passed away? That’s the core of the show, and it’s a game-changer. In our timeline, his death really seemed to derail the Soviet efforts, letting the US win the space race. But in the show, Korolev lives on, and that single difference – happening on January 14, 1966, according to creator Ronald D. Moore – is what sets this whole alternate history in motion. It’s a really clever twist!

For the next three years, Korolev skillfully managed developments and created new technologies that would have allowed the Soviet Union to land on the Moon one month before the United States. This seemingly small change highlights the enormous impact a single person can have, especially when considering the Space Race. The entire alternate timeline presented in For All Mankind hinges on Sergei Korolev surviving in 1966.

In this alternate timeline, women join the space program much earlier, and by 1973, humans have established a permanent base on the Moon called Jamestown. The ambitious Sea Dragon rocket is successfully built, and nuclear-powered engines become standard. Plans for the first hotel in space are underway, slated to open in 1992, and humans actually land on Mars in 1995. This is a dramatic departure from the way things unfolded in our world.

For All Mankind’s First Spinoff Can Finally Show Us the Point of Divergence

Though For All Mankind hasn’t explicitly shown the moment its alternate history began, the show has hinted at it. In Season 2, a storyline involving the Apollo-Soyuz mission led to one of the characters and a colleague being arrested in the Soviet Union while on a visit.

Poole encounters a man who discusses the history of the Soviet space program. The show strongly suggests this man is Sergei Korolev (played by Endre Hules). If so, Korolev lived much longer in this version of history—even into the 1980s—which helped the Soviet Union make greater progress in space exploration in For All Mankind.

As a total space movie nerd, I’ve always been fascinated by the Soviet space program, and I’m super excited about this! We’ve seen glimpses of their efforts in For All Mankind, but now we’re getting a whole series dedicated to it – Star City! It’s a spinoff set in the 1960s and is coming to Apple TV on May 29, 2026. The best part? There’s a real chance we’ll finally get a proper introduction to Sergei Korolev, the mastermind behind so much of their early success. I’ve been waiting for that moment!

The actor has appeared in films like Notting Hill, The Amazing Spider-Man, and House of the Dragon, and is now playing the Soviet Union’s leading rocket scientist. Although his character’s name hasn’t been revealed, it’s probably a younger version of Sergei Korolev, the same character played by Hules in Season 2 of For All Mankind.

The upcoming series, Star City, promises to reveal the key moment when this alternate timeline branched off from our own: the survival of a crucial figure, Korolev, during surgery. This will effectively take viewers back to the very beginning of the story. Currently slated for release in 2027, Star City is expected to run for multiple seasons, all set within the Soviet space program of the 1960s and 70s. This show could also be the first of several related series.

The new series, Star City, will feature Agnes O’Casey as Irina Morozova, Alice Englert as Anastasia Belikova, Josef Davies as Sergei Nikulov, and other actors. It will offer a fresh perspective on the For All Mankind universe, revealing more about how the story started.

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What If Korolev Lived? Test Your For All Mankind Alternate History Knowledge
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2026-04-22 02:09