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Terminator is an American media franchise created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd. The franchise encompasses a series of science fiction action films, comics, novels and additional media, concerning a total war between Skynet's synthetic intelligence – a self-aware military machine network – and John Connor's Resistance forces comprising the survivors of the human race. Skynet's most famous products in its genocidal goals are the various terminator models, such as the T-800, who was portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger from the original Terminator film in 1984. By 2010, the franchise had generated $3 billion in revenue.[4] The film franchise is considered to be of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction.[5][6]
Setting
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The central theme of the franchise is the battle for survival between the nearly-extinct human race and the world-spanning, synthetic intelligence that is Skynet. Skynet is positioned in the first film, The Terminator (1984), as a U.S. strategic "Global Digital Defense Network" computer system by Cyberdyne Systems which becomes self-aware. Shortly after activation, Skynet perceives all humans as a threat to its existence and formulates a plan to systematically wipe out humanity itself. The system initiates a nuclear first strike against Russia, thereby ensuring a devastating second strike and a nuclear holocaust which wipes out much of humanity in the resulting nuclear war. In the post-apocalyptic aftermath, Skynet later builds up its own autonomous machine-based military capability which includes the Terminators used against individual human targets and thereafter proceeds to wage a persistent total war against the surviving elements of humanity, some of whom have militarily organized themselves into a Resistance. At some point in this future, Skynet develops the capability of time travel and both it and the Resistance seek to use this technology in order to win the war; either by altering or accelerating past events or by preventing the apocalyptic timeline.
| Terminator story chronology | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original continuity | |||||
| Battle Across Time continuity | |||||
| The Sarah Connor Chronicles continuity | |||||
| Genisys continuity | |||||
| Dark Fate continuity | |||||
Judgment Day
In the franchise, Judgment Day (a reference to the biblical Day of Judgment) is the date on which Skynet becomes self-aware and its creators panic and attempt to deactivate the network. As a result, Skynet perceives humanity as a threat and chooses to exterminate them. Skynet launches an all-out nuclear attack on Russia in order to provoke a nuclear counter-strike against the United States, knowing this will eliminate its human enemies. Due to time travel and the consequent ability to change the future, several differing dates are given for Judgment Day. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Sarah Connor states that Judgment Day will occur on August 29, 1997. However, this date is delayed following the attack on Cyberdyne Systems in the second film.
Judgment Day has various different dates in different timelines of the subsequent films, as well as the television series, creating a multiverse of temporal phenomena. In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and Terminator Salvation (2009), Judgment Day was postponed to July 2003.[7][8][9] In Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009), the attack on Cyberdyne Systems in the second film delayed Judgment Day to April 21, 2011. In Terminator Genisys (2015), the fifth film in the franchise, Judgment Day was postponed to an unspecified day in October 2017, attributed to altered events in both the future and the past. Sarah and Kyle Reese travel through time to the year 2017 and seemingly defeat Skynet, but the system core, contained inside a subterranean blast shelter, survives unknown to them, thus further delaying, rather than preventing, Judgment Day. In Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), the direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a date is not given for the new Judgment Day though it is named as such by Grace. Since Grace is a ten-year-old in 2020 and shown as a teenager in the post-Judgment Day world in flash-forwards throughout the movie, Judgment Day occurs sometime in the early 2020s in this timeline.
Franchise rights
Before the first film was created, director James Cameron sold the rights for $1 to Gale Anne Hurd, his future wife, who produced the film, under the strict provision that he be allowed to direct it.[10] Hemdale Film Corporation also became a 50-percent owner of the franchise rights, until its share was sold in 1990 to Carolco Pictures, a company founded by Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar. Terminator 2: Judgment Day was released a year later.[11][12] Carolco filed for bankruptcy in 1995 and the rights to future Terminator films were ultimately put up for auction. By that time, Cameron had become interested in making a Terminator 3 film.[13][14] However, the rights were ultimately auctioned to Vajna in 1997, for $8 million.[15] Vajna and Kassar spent another $8 million to purchase Hurd's half of the rights in 1998, becoming the full owners of the franchise.[15][16] Hurd was initially opposed to the sale of the rights, while Cameron had lost interest in the franchise and a third film.[17]
After the 2003 release of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the franchise rights were sold in 2007 for about $25 million to The Halcyon Company,[18][19] which produced Terminator Salvation in 2009. Later that year, the company faced legal issues and filed for bankruptcy, putting the franchise rights up for sale. The rights were valued at about $70 million.[20][21] In 2010, the rights were sold for $29.5 million to Pacificor, a hedge fund that was Halcyon's largest creditor.[22][19] In 2012, the rights were sold to Megan Ellison for less than $20 million, a lower price than what was previously offered. The low price was because of the possibility of Cameron regaining the rights in 2019, as a result of new North American copyright laws.[23][24] David Ellison and Skydance Productions produced Terminator Genisys in 2015.[23]
Cameron worked together with David Ellison to produce the 2019 film Terminator: Dark Fate.[25] As the film neared its release, Hurd filed to terminate a copyright grant made 35 years earlier. Under this move, Hurd would again become a 50-percent owner of the rights with Cameron and Skydance could lose the rights to make any additional Terminator films beginning in November 2020, unless a new deal is worked out. Skydance responded that it had a deal in place with Cameron and that it "controls the rights to the Terminator franchise for the foreseeable future".[26]
Films
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Terminator | October 26, 1984 | James Cameron | James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd | Gale Anne Hurd | |
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | July 3, 1991 | James Cameron & William Wisher Jr. | James Cameron | ||
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | July 2, 2003 | Jonathan Mostow | John Brancato and Michael Ferris | John Brancato & Michael Ferris and Tedi Sarafian | Colin Wilson, Mario Kassar, Hal Lieberman, Andrew G. Vajna and Joel B. Michaels |
| Terminator Salvation | May 21, 2009 | McG | John Brancato & Michael Ferris | Moritz Borman, Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek and Jeffrey Silver | |
| Terminator Genisys | July 1, 2015 | Alan Taylor | Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier | Dana Goldberg and David Ellison | |
| Terminator: Dark Fate | November 1, 2019 | Tim Miller | David Goyer & Justin Rhodes and Billy Ray | James Cameron & Charles Eglee & Josh Friedman & David Goyer & Justin Rhodes | David Ellison and James Cameron |
The Terminator (1984)
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film released by Orion Pictures, co-written and directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn. It is the first work in the Terminator franchise. In the film, robots take over the world in the near future, directed by the artificial intelligence Skynet. With its sole mission to completely annihilate humanity, it develops android assassins called Terminators that outwardly appear human. A man named John Connor starts the Tech-Com resistance to fight the machines, defeat Skynet and free humanity. With a human victory imminent, the machines' only choice is to send a Terminator back in time to kill John's mother, Sarah Connor and prevent the boy's birth, thereby stopping the resistance from being founded in the first place. With the fate of humanity at stake, John sends soldier Kyle Reese back to protect Sarah Connor and thus ensure his own existence. It was released on October 26, 1984 and grossed $78.4 million worldwide.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the 1991 sequel to the original Terminator film and was released by TriStar Pictures. It was co-written, directed and produced by James Cameron and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick and Joe Morton. After robots fail to prevent John Connor from being born, they try again in 1995, this time attempting to terminate him as a child by using a more advanced Terminator, the T-1000. As before, John sends back a protector for his younger self, a reprogrammed Terminator, who is a doppelgänger to the one from 1984. After years of preparing for the future war, Sarah decides to use the same tactics the robots used on her: preventing Skynet from being invented by destroying Cyberdyne Systems before they create it. It was released on July 3, 1991, to critical acclaim and grossed $523.7 million worldwide. It also won several Academy Awards, one most notably for its then-cutting-edge computer animation. The film was remastered for 3D and re-released in August 2017.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, released by Warner Bros. Pictures in North America and Columbia TriStar Film Distributors internationally, is the 2003 sequel to Terminator 2 and is written by John Brancato, Michael Ferris, directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken. As a result of the destruction of Cyberdyne, the Skynet takeover has been postponed, not averted. In an attempt to ensure a victory by the robots, a new Terminator, the T-X, is sent back to terminate as many of John Connor's future lieutenants as is possible, including his future wife Kate Brewster and also John himself. Kate's father, General Robert Brewster (David Andrews), who is supervising Skynet's development, is also targeted for termination by the T-X. After Connor's future self is terminated by a doppelgänger of his previous protector, Kate reprograms him and sends him back to save them both from the T-X. It was released on July 2, 2003 to generally favorable reviews and grossed $433.4 million worldwide.
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Terminator Salvation is the fourth installment of the Terminator film series and was made by The Halcyon Company and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Columbia Pictures. It was released on May 21, 2009 to mixed reviews and grossed $371.4 million. It was written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, directed by McG,[27] and stars Christian Bale as John Connor and Sam Worthington (who was personally recommended by James Cameron[28]) as Marcus Wright.[29] Following the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, John struggles to become the leader of humanity as he is destined, while Marcus Wright finds his place in an unfamiliar post-apocalyptic world. In this future, altered by the events of the second film, the T-800 Terminators (Roland Kickinger with CG-rendered facial likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger[30]) are coming online sooner than expected. The film also stars Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese,[31] Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Common, Michael Ironside, and Helena Bonham Carter.
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Terminator Genisys is the fifth installment of the franchise and also serves as a reboot that features the main characters from the first two films created by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd and William Wisher, Jr., portrayed by a new cast, with the exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as the eponymous character. Additionally, J. K. Simmons joined the cast as Detective O'Brien, serving as an ally for the film's protagonists. The film was written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier and directed by Alan Taylor. It was made by Skydance Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The story takes place in an alternate reality resulting from a chain of events related to Skynet's (Matt Smith) actions throughout a previous timeline. Prior to this alteration, on the verge of winning the war against Skynet, John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends his trusted right-hand officer Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back through time to save his mother's life and ensure his own existence. However, Kyle arrives at an alternate timeline where Skynet had never launched its initial attack in 1997 and Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) was brought up by a reprogrammed Terminator (Schwarzenegger), sent by an unknown party to be her guardian ever since childhood. Now Sarah, Kyle and the Guardian need to escape the T-800 Model 101 (Brett Azar with CG-rendered likeness of Schwarzenegger from the first film), the T-1000 (Lee Byung-hun) and Skynet's T-3000, in an attempt to stop Judgment Day from ever happening; while trying to uncover the secrets behind Cyberdyne Systems' new application software: Genisys. Assisting the trio is Detective O'Brien (Simmons), whose investigation into time travelers (especially Terminators) leads him to learn about Skynet and helps the protagonists in their mission to avert Judgment Day. The film was released in the U.S. on July 1, 2015 and grossed $440.6 million worldwide. Its commercial performance was lower than anticipated, resulting in two planned sequels and a spin-off television series being cancelled in favor of Terminator: Dark Fate (2019).
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth installment of the franchise and a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It is directed by Tim Miller and was released in the U.S. on November 1, 2019. It stars Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, reprising their roles as Sarah Connor and the Terminator, respectively.[32] The film also stars Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes and Gabriel Luna.[33][34] Jude Collie and Brett Azar were also cast as a young John Connor and a younger T-800, respectively.[35]
The previous film, Terminator Genisys, had been intended as the first in a new stand-alone film trilogy, but the planned sequels were canceled following the film's disappointing box-office performance. The producer of that film, David Ellison, recruited James Cameron to produce a new film with him, which would become Terminator: Dark Fate.[36][37][38][39]
In the film, the machines send a Terminator, Rev-9 (Luna), back in time to eliminate Dani Ramos (Reyes), whose destiny is linked to the Human Resistance's war against them. The Resistance sends one of their soldiers, Grace (Davis), back to protect her, and a chain of events leads Grace and Dani to join forces with Sarah Connor and the T-800.
The writers' room included Josh Friedman, creator of the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Other writers included David S. Goyer, Justin Rhodes and Billy Ray.[40] The creative team stated that the new film would feature a young 18- to 21-year-old, who could potentially lead the franchise should the first film be successful. Miller made mention of creating a theme park attraction akin to T2 3-D: Battle Across Time should the film prove successful.[41] Because the series deals with time-travel, the film ignores the premise of the last three films and the TV series and is not titled Terminator 6, as it is also a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day.[42] Filming began in Isleta del Moro, Almería[43][44] on June 4, 2018, shooting for a month there, before shooting the rest in the United States.
This film was intended as the first in a new trilogy of Terminator films,[45] but these plans were canceled due to very mixed audience reactions and the film's underperforming box office record.[46][47]
Television
| Series | Season | Episodes | First released | Last released | Showrunner(s) | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 1 | 9 | January 13, 2008 | March 3, 2008 | Josh Friedman | Fox |
| 2 | 22 | September 8, 2008 | April 10, 2009 |
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009)
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles follows Sarah (Lena Headey) and John Connor (Thomas Dekker) as they try to "live under the radar" after destroying Cyberdyne in Terminator 2. Summer Glau plays a Terminator named Cameron and Brian Austin Green plays Derek Reese, the brother of Kyle Reese, both sent back in time to protect the Connors and prevent another Judgment Day.
Future
In February 2021, Netflix announced plans to develop a Terminator anime series with Skydance, Mattson Tomlin and Production I.G.[48] In May 2024, the series, titled Terminator Zero is set to premiere on the service on August 29 of the same year.[49]
In December 2022, while promoting Avatar: The Way of Water, producer and director of the first two Terminator films James Cameron revealed that another series reboot was "in discussion, but nothing has been decided". The reboot would likely feature an entirely new cast and reset the continuity of the entire film series. Cameron suggested that in hindsight, bringing back both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton for Terminator: Dark Fate had been a mistake.[50][51] In May 2023, Schwarzenegger stated in an interview that he would not appear in any future franchise installments after the last few films were "not well-written".[52] Later that month, it was reported that Cameron was developing a script for a Terminator reboot.[53] In February 2024, Hamilton stated in an interview that she would also not appear in any more future installments feeling that she did all she could in the franchise and thought the story had been "done to death". She also questioned the idea of rebooting the franchise again stating "Why anybody would relaunch it is a mystery to me."[54]