Yes, as you’ve read: Netflix has revealed the first details of the upcoming original anime based on the “Terminator” franchise, which will be produced by Skydance Animation, in collaboration with Production I.G studios. This new project, titled “Terminator Zero,” has a very soon premiere date scheduled, entering, as planned, this coming August 29th, into the global catalog of the popular platform. The press release also revealed that this series will feature a total of 8 episodes, as is common with almost all new series that are released with few episodes at first, to “measure” the level of audience reception, before planning more extensive seasons. According to the information, although the story is set in the “Terminator” universe, it will revolve around completely new characters. Netflix had previously announced the series in 2021, but it wasn’t until now that the first official details have been revealed.
The rights holders of the franchise had planned a series of shorts created by prominent European and Japanese authors in 2008, but the project did not premiere as planned. “Termination,” which was the name of that project and whose premise and structure might inevitably remind us of the 2003 “Animatrix,” was focused on Judgment Day, a date that, as we all well know, marked a before and after in the “Terminator” universe. We’re talking about the day when the defense system Skynet would launch nuclear weapons that would destroy much of humanity. The iconic robot T-800, a weapon wielded by Skynet without knowledge of mercy or feelings (at least in much of the saga), travels through time in all its versions, being both the antagonist and the protagonist in various installments of “Terminator” since the first movie in 1984.
Even in 2009, in the series “Doraemon,” our already beloved T-800 made an official and authorized cameo. On that occasion, the main character of the anime “Doraemon” (a future time-traveling robot cat), had described a “dream matchup” to the Japanese press, between American and Japanese robots, and you can imagine the context in which our beloved cinematic terminator appeared, right?
Production
Not much has been released about the production team, but we can at least provide some names:
- Mattson Tomlin (Project Power, The Batman II) is the showrunner of this project, the executive producer, and the person in charge of writing and supervising the scripts.
- David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger from Skydance Animation, as well as Masashi Kudo, are in charge of directing the project at Production I.G. Studios.
Synopsis
Do we know what “Terminator Zero” is about? Well, yes. We don’t know everything yet, and even if we did, we would respect our own “anti-spoiler” policy, but anyway, we can tell you a couple of things to help you create the picture in your mind:
Year 2022. A future war has been raging for decades between the few surviving humans and the endless army of machines, starting in 1997, when the AI known as Skynet became self-aware and began its war against humanity.
A tenacious soldier who finds herself caught between these timelines is sent to the past to change the fatal destiny of humanity. She arrives in 1997 with the mission to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee, who is working to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet‘s imminent attack on the human race. As Malcolm deals with the moral complexities of his project, he is pursued by a relentless assassin from the future, which forever alters the fate of his three children.
“Terminator Zero” will soon be among us, and I hope to be talking about the series, and not its protagonist haha… Anyway, like us, you’ll surely be watching for news from Netflix. We wouldn’t miss it for the world! So… “come with me if you want to live…” I mean… drop by the comments and let us know your opinion about this news! You know, Skynet will be reading you! 😉
Images Source: The Infiltrator Official YouTube Channel, Reddit
