The next outing in the Terminator franchise will be an anime series on Netflix from movie rights holders Skydance Media / David Ellison (Terminator Genisys, Terminator: Dark Fate).
When initially reporting on the Terminator Netflix Anime project our editor stated the following:
“Could the new series wipe the slate clean and start again with new characters? Will it reinstate beloved characters or feature the future war in all its glory?
Do the studios plan to continue the Terminator: Dark Fate storyline in anime form in an attempt to circumvent the termination of the Skydance and Paramount trilogy?”
Endo Morgan
It’s still a very good point; could this be a way to continue on from a theatrical marker, be that Terminator: Dark Fate, or even Terminator 2: Judgment Day? Or could each episode tell a different tale like ‘The Animatrix’ which was released to tie in with Matrix sequels – Reloaded and Revolutions?
At this stage fans have no clue what the plans are for the story but, at this point, anything could happen.
There are many story avenues for the project to potentially go down. Could we be going head first into the future war – especially as so many fans have expressed / are expressing that’s where they want the franchise to go (Terminator Salvation took the risk to try and do this)? Or could it be doing present day, maybe even a mix of both?
If the studios did do something like The Animatrix then it could be an experience of foreboding tales involving humans and machines over the course of history, and the genesis of the machine take over.
In the last Terminator outing (T:DF) James Cameron and David Ellison threw a new future into the mix, the one ruled by Legion’s “synthetic intelligent machine network”. The SkyNet-ruled future is the one fans are most familiar with, and the one in which machines bearing the resemblance of Arnold Schwarzenegger come from. Could the Terminator Anime somehow find a way to cohesively meld alternate futures and other artificially intelligent enemies, or will the anime series take a more simplistic and linear approach to the Terminator universe and default back to the fans beloved A.I. SkyNet?
Financially an animated series also has to be much less of a risk than a movie like Terminator: Dark Fate which was reportedly reaching past the $400 million dollar mark with budget and marketing combined,- it will also be interesting to see if any original actors from the movies will be drafted in to voice familiar characters, or even new ones. The Anime will certainly grant a lot of creative freedom.
It remains to be seen if the series will resonate with Terminator Fans but Production I.G are highly respected by Anime fans, and the material Mattson Tomlin (Mother/Android, Project Power) has prepared for the show will truly define how successful it is.
If the Anime isn’t successful then it won’t be the large scale embarrassment of box office failure and another failed start at a three picture goal by studios.
No doubt Skydance are playing safe and letting some healing take place within the franchise before attempting another theatrical outing, but Skydance’s owner David Ellison will definitely be counting the numbers on how many of us have binged the Terminator Anime.
What would you prefer the Terminator Anime Series to be, a continuation of a theatrical outing, or a completely fresh take with new stand alone stories? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
5 Comments
Its the only Terminator thing on the horizon to get one’s hopes up for, but if they’re going to try to tie in Dark Fate or Genisys in any way, then they need to take a page from Spider-Man and let those flops simmer for another 10 years in the hopes that they’ll become beloved meme fodder. Even if they just stick to following up on T2, that’s still square 1, and they can always find yet another way to fail to do so.
Regardless of where this anime goes, there can be no healing of the franchise until David Ellison and Skydance are completely out of the picture.
They have shown repeatedly that they don’t know what the hell they’re doing, and the franchise has suffered immeasurably under their stewardship.
Their leasing agreement with James Cameron must come to an end, and hopefully then , Gale Anne Hurd could also come back into the picture.
Then we can talk about a potential Terminator 7. But until then? Forget it. Not with these assclowns involved.
I would prefer the Anime series would FINISH what previous installations of the franchise started in separate seasons.
The events of Salvation were explained in the comics, but if we deserve to see what “could have been” in the theaters,
Genisys’s TV series has been completely discarded, but considering the Mobile Games have more lore than the film, we (or I,) are itching for more content.
Dark Fate has been silent recently, it’s most likely never going to continue, but this series can show the origins of Legion or the sequels.
Lastly, the Sarah Connor Chronicals. Self explainatory.
THEN, only THEN, is it acceptable to present original ideas. Well, I would love to see the comics hit the motion screens! Imagine a movie based off the Amahiri Terminator! Or perhaps respawn the idea of the cancelled films Terminator 3000 or Termination!
Vu que c’est un animé autant prendre une toute nouvelle direction en essayant de nouvelles idées et prises de risque ! mais pourquoi pas prendre des idées de tout les films en fusionnant passé futur mais directement plongé dans le noir futuriste complet
Been following this guy mattson on his socials for a while now and I gotta say I have serious doubts about the anime. He’s proud of being WOKE. You guys should read the script that got him the batman gig. Kill the leopard. Dumb and WOKE. just look at this dumbass, he even got a tat to prove he’s AWAKE. LMFAO. The Anime’s gonna be some stupid virtue signalling crap that has nothing to do with what us fans really want.
https://i.imgur.com/Ok85Cwm.jpeg