In a bold reinvention of a beloved franchise, the “Terminator” series is set to make a striking return as an intense anime adaptation. The red band trailer for “Terminator Zero” reveals a darker, more brutal vision of the franchise, tailored for a Japanese audience.
Renowned for his work on “Project Power” and contributions to Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” Mattson Tomlin has been entrusted with the creative reins of this new iteration. Though he did not receive credit for his rewrites on Reeves’ film, Tomlin is now fully immersed in his role as the showrunner, executive producer, and writer of “Terminator Zero.”
The anime series follows a fierce warrior from a dystopian future who is dispatched to the year 1997 with a crucial mission: to protect an AI scientist from a merciless cyborg. The impressive voice cast features Timothy Olyphant as Terminator, André Holland as Malcolm Lee, Rosario Dawson as Kokoro, Ann Dowd as The Prophet, and Sonoya Mizuno as Eiko.
Spanning eight episodes, “Terminator Zero” is produced by Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger, with Production IG handling the animation. Masashi Kudo directs this dark reimagining of the classic franchise.
The official synopsis teases a high-stakes narrative:
In 2022, a relentless war has devastated the world, leaving only a handful of human survivors battling an overwhelming army of machines. By 1997, Skynet, an advanced AI, becomes self-aware and initiates its war against humanity. Amid this chaos, a soldier travels back in time to 1997 with the mission of safeguarding Malcolm Lee, an AI scientist. Lee’s groundbreaking work is aimed at developing a new AI system to counter Skynet’s assault. As Lee wrestles with the ethical implications of his creation, he finds himself pursued by a formidable assassin from the future, a chase that will irrevocably impact his three children’s lives.
“Terminator Zero” is set to premiere on August 29, 2024, on Netflix, coinciding with Judgment Day.