A classic action franchise is making its way to Netflix in the form of a Terminator anime series. As Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator promised in his extremely popular catchphrase, the character is coming back, albeit in a different form, to the streaming platform in partnership with Skydance, which produced the last two films in the franchise.
In a statement released by Netflix, John Derderian, the streaming service's vice president of Japan and anime, confirmed the news and spoke of how the team cannot wait to bring the new series that will showcase an “epic battle between machines and humans” to life. While no further details of the project have been announced, it is confirmed that Mattson Tomlin, who co-wrote the upcoming DC movie The Batman, has come on board as showrunner and executive producer.
Terminator has become one of the most iconic sci-fi films to have been made since its first release in 1984. Directed by James Cameron and starring Schwarzenegger in the lead, the first film in the franchise was produced on a low budget and proved to be extremely successful. Many referred to Schwarzenegger as the 'ultimate action hero' following the film's release. This led to the production of its sequel, Terminator: Judgement Day, which was released in 1991 and received well by both fans and critics. It topped the box office in its opening week and that’s truly when the Terminator franchise was born.
There have been a total of six movies in the franchise, with the first two being followed by 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, 2009’s Terminator Salvation, 2015’s Terminator Genisys, and 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate. Apart from the fourth installment, Schwarzenegger reprises his classic role as Terminator in all the other films. Even though the latter sequels did not fare too well at the box office, the six films have grossed over $2 billion worldwide till date.
While the Netflix series will be the first time the franchise will be adapted in the anime format, it has previously been brought to the small screen. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was a live-action series by Fox that followed the lives of Sarah and John Connor following the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
This is also not the latest anime announcement based on a popular franchise that Netflix has made. The streamer seems to have made a conscious effort to cash in on the popularity of the genre. The anime section on Netflix gives fans several original options to choose from. In addition, they have recently announced multiple new projects, including Wolverine, Pacific Rim, Godzilla and even an anime series based on the extremely popular multiplayer game DOTA 2, titled DOTA: Dragon’s Blood.
The Terminator anime series is being developed by Netflix, Skydance and Production I.G.
Source: Variety