Terminator Zero brings some new ideas to the table, and in doing so has shaken off a storytelling issue that has affected the series since 1991. The Terminator movie franchise never bettered James Cameron’s first two entries, with each successive sequel being more disappointing than the last. It took a dozen years for 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines to arrive, and all it offered was a lukewarm reworking of the second film. The fifth entry Genisys was an embarrassment, while the box office failure of 2019’s Dark Fate signaled audiences had grown bored of the property.

It didn’t help that each sequel planned to launch its own new trilogy, but when they underwhelmed, the next film would hit the reset switch again. Cameron is developing a script for Terminator 7 with a focus on AI, though the project seems to be on the back burner. The latest franchise offering is Terminator Zero, an anime series from Netflix. Not only has it been critically acclaimed (it currently sits at over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes), but Zero is easily the best entry in the Terminator saga since Judgment Day.

Terminator Zero Has Broken The Franchise’s Stale Bodyguard Formula

The Terminator series go-to plotline isn’t Zero’s focus

Cameron’s original film is really a slasher movie with guns, with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 also being a masked killer; it just so happens his mask is made of rubber skin instead. Subsequent Terminators have all been variations on the same basic plot; a killer robot is sent back in time to kill somebody important to the human resistance, and it’s up to a heroic protector to save them. This applies to all the movies bar 2009’s Salvation, which tried and failed to play around with that formula by being a futuristic war movie.

Dark Fate proved this bodyguard formula had grown very stale, with its action sequences being hollow retreads of things viewers had seen before. Terminator Zero is the first follow-up to truly approach the series from another angle because, while it does feature a relentless Terminator chasing after its targets, that’s not the focus. Instead, Zero is mainly concerned with the creator of an AI named Kokoro (voiced by Rosario Dawson) trying to convince her that mankind is worth defending against Skynet.

Terminator Zero’s voice cast is led by Timothy Olyphant, Sonoya Mizuno and André Holland as Malcolm Lee, the creator of Kokoro. The notion of creating a rival AI to combat against Judgment Day is a genuinely intriguing new angle, and while the anime has all the action and chases that franchise devotees expect, much of the series boils down to philosophical discussions between Kokoro and Lee about humanity and the nature of free will.

Terminator Zero Finally Introduces Fresh Ideas Into The Series

It beats several of the Terminator sequels in key areas

The conversations between Lee and Kokoro in Terminator Zero are just as engrossing as the action, and it doesn’t just feel like another loose remake of the original James Cameron movies.

One of the frustrating parts of the last few Terminator films was hearing the filmmakers talk of how they would be reinventing the series or adding something new – only to cycle through the same old beats. For all its convoluted plotting, Genisys once again boiled down to its heroes being chased by a new Terminator model. Terminator Zero has the ideal balance of reverence for the past while adding some fresh concepts to the pot, which is why it has been so well received.

The conversations between Lee and Kokoro are just as engrossing as the action, and it doesn’t just feel like another loose remake of the Cameron movies. Even the Japanese setting makes it feel unique; for instance, the country’s strict gun laws make it very difficult for both the heroes and villains to obtain weapons, leading the Terminator to build itself custom gadgets for its mission.

Zero isn’t a total reinvention of the property. The trademarks are all there, including time travel, flashforwards to the Future War and chase sequences, but the anime has other things on its mind too. When Judgment Day begins midway through the show’s run, it pulls the rug out from audiences by subverting how these stories usually play out.

It’s Shocking The Terminator Series Has Never Thought Of A Rival AI To Battle Skynet

Kokoro adds a new level of threat to the Terminator franchise

Custom image by Yeider Chacon

Every Terminator Movie & TV Series
Release Year
Rotten Tomatoes Rating

The Terminator
1984
100%

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1991
91%

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
2003
70%

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
2008-2009
85%

Terminator: Salvation
2009
33%

Terminator: Genisys
2015
26%

Terminator: Dark Fate
2019
70%

Terminator Zero
2024
95%

The best new addition Zero gives is Kokoro, an AI who has been given free will by Malcolm. He hopes Kokoro will choose to save humanity from Skynet, but unfortunately for him, she takes a lot of convincing, since she sees the human race as fundamentally self-destructive. It’s also amazing that after five sequels, none thought of creating a rival artificial intelligence to fight back against Skynet. The focus was always on creating a cool new Terminator model, but considering Skynet itself is the primary threat, creating a machine that could rival it feels like a natural direction.

It’s not a given Kokoro will fight back against Skynet, and what’s worse is the idea she could join forces with it.

Yet, Zero is the first follow-up to think of it. It helps that it has time to really dig into the notion too, with the relationship between Malcolm and Kokoro being a fascinating one. Viewers are never sure what to think of her, and her cold, clinical view of mankind makes it hard to know which path she will choose. It’s not a given she will fight back against Skynet, and what’s worse is the idea she could join forces with it. This adds a nice undercurrent of tension to the season.

Zero Keeps The Traditional Terminator Story As A B-Plot

The Terminator will always be back

Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury

Of course, it wouldn’t be Terminator without an actual Terminator involved. On that front, Zero takes the concept back to its horror roots, with the show’s dead-eyed cyborg relentlessly stalking Malcolm’s children while resistance soldier Eiko keeps them safe. This is the main subplot for the show and adds another ticking clock element to a series that’s already counting down to Judgment Day. It also prevents things from getting too philosophical or dry, and it adds a horror element too, including an even bloodier remake of the original’s police station massacre.

If this was the main storyline it would feel like a warmed-over take on the other sequels, but it instead adds spice to Terminator Zero’s main focus. It feels oddly refreshing to not give the new killer cyborg some kind of gimmick too; it’s just a standard model Terminator not unlike Arnie’s version. It does harken back to Cameron’s original notion of the machine just looking like a regular person. One of the creepier scenes involves the cyborg trying to act normal around Malcolm’s young daughter, but his aloofness is enough to warn her something is very wrong.