“Terminator Zero” – First Images from Netflix Anime Series Promise a Slasher-Horror Vibe

Originally announced back in 2021, “Terminator: The Anime Series” over at Netflix is now titled “Terminator Zero,” and Entertainment Weekly has an in-depth preview this week.

“Terminator Zero” comes from Showrunner/Executive Producer/Writer Mattson Tomlin (Project Power, The Batman II), and Tomlin explains to Entertainment Weekly that the upcoming series will return to the horror vibe of James Cameron’s original sci-fi slasher.

Tomlin explains, “There’s a completely valid version of the Terminator franchise where the Terminator is synonymous with Jason and Freddy, where he is this unrelenting serial killer. There’s a little bit of Friday the 13th in here. There’s a little bit of Michael Myers in here.”

The outlet’s preview piece today also makes it clear that “Terminator Zero” is in-canon with every previous film in the franchise, and that the Connor family is not part of the storyline.

Head over to Entertainment Weekly for more images and insights.

All episodes of “Terminator Zero” will be unleashed on Netflix August 29, 2024.

The anime hails from Japanese animation studio Production IG (Ghost in the Shell). The eight-episode series is part of the Terminator universe but will center around new characters.

Here’s the official synopsis…

“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 is hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future which forever alters the fate of his three children.”

Launched in 1984 with James Cameron’s original action-slasher, the Terminator franchise to date includes six films and a short-lived spinoff television series. The franchise did head into the world of animation with Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series back in 2009, a web-series. That series took place between the events of Rise of the Machines and Salvation.