Terminator Zero, a new eight-episode anime series that will tell an original story set in the world introduced by James Cameron’s classic sci-fi films, including 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, will be released this year on August 29—a date that fans might recognize as the day in 1997 when Skynet became self-aware and declared nuclear war on the world—according to an official teaser trailer for the show that Netflix shared today. The voice cast includes Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka, Common Ground), Sonoya Mizuno (House of the Dragon, Crazy Rich Asians), and Timothy Olyphant (Justified, Deadwood), the latter of whom plays The Terminator.
Netflix on what the show is about:
- “2022: A future war has raged for decades between the few human survivors and an endless army of machines. 1997: The AI known as Skynet gained self-awareness and began its war against humanity.”
- “Caught between the future and this past is a soldier sent back in time to change the fate of humanity.”
- “She arrives in 1997 to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who works to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet’s impending attack on humanity.”
- “As Malcolm navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he’s hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future, which forever alters the fate of his three children.”
The teaser trailer:
Netflix on who’s behind the show:
The upcoming anime series will be executive produced by Skydance, Japan animation studio Production I.G., and creator Mattson Tomlin. Tomlin, who’ll serve as the showrunner and writer for the series, previously wrote Project Power (starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) for Netflix and is currently writing The Batman II.
“Anyone who knows my writing knows I believe in taking big swings and going for the heart,” Tomlin said in 2021. “I’m honored that Netflix and Skydance have given me the opportunity to approach Terminator in a way that breaks conventions, subverts expectations, and has real guts.”