Netflix Announces New 'Terminator' Animated Series

The popular film franchise, "Terminator" is returning as a new animated series on Netflix, as announced during the Geeked Week promotional cycle of the platform.

What to Expect with 'Terminator: The Anime Series"

The original film franchise started in 1984 with James Gunn's "The Terminator" which featured Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cyborg with a mission. The film gained success and was followed by "Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was also a blockbuster hit. Four more films followed its suit but it was all met with mixed reviews from viewers.

After four years since the last movie, The Terminator is now back as an animated series. The show will be executive-produced by Skydance, Japan Animation Studio Production I.G., and Mattson Tomlin. "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," Tomlin shared.

While not much has been revealed in the trailer, Variety hinted that the "Terminator: The Anime Series" is taking the fans back to August 1999. This is when Skynet AI first became self-aware and decided to turn against humans. The show will also introduce characters that have never been seen before across the franchise.

The Terminator Franchise So Far

In case you missed it, during the 1984 movie The Terminator is a cyborg that was sent from the future. He was programmed to kill Sarah Connor and his unborn son. Sarah's son was the target as it was revealed that he would one day eliminate the Skynet, a "malevolent" artificial intelligence. Aside from the six films, the franchise also spawned a TV series called "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles."

Franchise creator Gunn previously reminisced about the amount of violence in his "Terminator" movies, saying that it turns his stomach and he does not want to fetishize guns as he did more than 30 years ago. Regardless, the animated series would bring the AI topic to a new level as it speaks more relevance in today's time with the rise of such technology.

Netflix has yet to reveal its release date but the platform reminded to "Prepare for your fate when Terminator: The Anime Series arrives on service soon."