Terminator Zero is an upcoming project in the Terminator franchise that will be an adult animated series. The plot switches between the periods of 2022 and 1997, when a human is sent back in time to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who is involved in the development of a new AI system.
Terminator Zero features a voice cast including Timothy Olyphant, Sonoya Mizuno, Rosario Dawson, Ann Dowd, and Andre Holland.
Netflix has now released the trailer for Terminator Zero. The trailer opens with Malcolm (Holland) gasping for air with his children. An AI voice, Kokoro (Dawson), then says “Malcolm,” as the city undergoes a nuclear explosion. The trailer reveals that this is Malcolm’s nightmare, similar to Sarah Connor’s nightmare in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Malcolm reveals that Skynet is going online and Kokoro may be able to help him prevent it. A Terminator is sent back in time to kill Malcolm, but a resistance fighter, Eiko (Mizuno), arrives to protect him.
Terminator Zero will launch on Netflix on Thursday, August 29 with eight episodes. This continues a pattern of major titles being adapted into animated form. Netflix has had experience producing similar series before, with their animated adaptation of Castlevania. This trend shows that Netflix is finding animation a viable medium for action franchises that have their roots in other media.
Because Terminator Zero is an animated series, it will also ride the wave of adult animated series that has been gaining popularity in recent years. Adult animated series can take on a variety of genres, such as the Prime Video series Invincible, which has run for two seasons so far. Unlike Terminator Zero, Invincible does not have an existing live-action project to live up to its reputation. Still, the aesthetic of Terminator Zero will likely be compared to Invincible and other adult animated projects.
Judging from the trailer for Terminator Zero, the series’ visuals seem to focus on shadows and dark, muted tones, creating a different environment than animated series like Invincible or Rick and Morty. Terminator Zero allows for a re-exploration of the Terminator universe after a few years, and offers a unique take on the emerging AI-fear sci-fi subgenre. Whether it fully succeeds in this goal remains to be seen, but the trailer for Terminator Zero is intriguing.