NEW YORK — When plotting a reboot of its sci-fi action franchise “Terminator,” Netflix has put the horror of killer robots of the future front and center.
The streaming service’s new “Terminator Zero” animated series, which premieres Aug. 29 (Judgment Day in the franchise’s death-by-Skynet history), is an adult series that introduces a new story to the convoluted film timeline that stretches back to James Cameron-directed 1984’s “The Terminator.” (Check out our ranked list of Terminator movies and our Terminator streaming guide if you need a refresher on the franchise.)
The eight-episode series, led by showrunner Mattson Tomlin and director Masashi Kudō and developed by Japan’s Production IG (“Ghost in a Shell”), Skydance TV and Netflix, is set in 1997 Tokyo, just before the artificial intelligence Skynet launches Judgment Day. It adds a new AI named Kokoro (voiced by Rosario Dawson) to the mix who may hold the key to humanity’s fate in a war for survival. At the same time, a new Terminator assassin (Timothy Oliphant) and a human warrior from the future named Eiko (voiced by Sonoya Mizuno) are in a race to hunt down (or protect) Kokoro’s creator, Malcolm (voiced by André Holland).
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“I saw that first movie when I was 8 years old and it scared the shit out of me,” Tomlin told a rapt audience here at Anime NYC 2024 during an advance premiere of the show’s first two episodes. (The audience joyfully applauded the iconic Terminator theme from Cameron’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” sequel.) “That first movie was a horror movie. It really captivated me, so wanting to step back and capture that tone was really important to me.”
The horror tone of “The Terminator” also resonated with series director Kudō, who said through a translator that the “feel of terror” in the original Terminator was what really piqued his interest in the Netflix/Production IG project. After all, he’s always wanted to direct a horror film.
“I'm absolutely thrilled to be part of the franchise,” Kudō said.
Related: How to watch the Terminator movies in order
A key difference in the new series is the Terminator himself. Gone is the hulking bodybuilding robot Arnold Schwarzenegger who sticks out like a sore thumb in a crowd. Instead, the new Terminator dresses in a business suit to blend into Japanese society as he pursues his past target.
“The T-800 is the foundation of the Terminator side, but what we did was adapt it so that these Terminators could blend into Japanese civilization,” production design coordinator Haruka Watanabe said through a translator. “So those design elements had to be adjusted to make sure there was realism that could blend into Japanese civilization.”
The domestic robots in “Terminator Zero,” of which there are many, did not escape the uncanny valley either, despite being inspired by Honda's famous Asimo.
“The director asked us to make it cute, but creepy, something that was a little bit uncomfortable to look at,” Watanabe said. “And even though we see a humanoid form, we made sure that something wasn't quite human by adding a little bit of awkwardness and clumsiness to make sure that you really got that deep-seated sense of fear that something's not right with that form.”
Even the potential human protector of “Terminator Zero” has questionable motives, the showrunners said.
“Eiko's goal, above all, is to prevent Judgement Day, and if that means protecting Malcolm, fine. If that means killing Malcolm, fine. If that means making sure Kokoro doesn't go online, fine,” Tomlin said. “It's a less direct path than we've seen in some of the Terminator movies, where it's just the Terminator trying to kill this person.”
“Terminator Zero” premieres on Netflix on August 29.