Not even the nostalgic return of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton could save the Terminator franchise from its failure on the big screen. The attempt to bring the iconic time travel story to contemporary cinema failed twice. The next hope promised to be Netflix. With the animated series Terminator Zero, the science fiction saga sought to reinvent itself. And, at first glance, it seemed to have succeeded. The reviews were extremely positive, and many fans showed their support. A social media post immediately announced a second season, before being quietly deleted shortly thereafter. What happened?
Terminator Zero would have had five seasons and a brilliant finale
After almost two years of uncertainty, the series’ creator, Mattson Tomlin, finally clarified things: Netflix canceled Terminator Zero. There will be no second season, as Tomlin explained on Twitter. “[Terminator Zero] has been canceled. The reviews and audience response were great, but ultimately, very few people watched it. I would have loved to have implemented the future wars I had planned for seasons 2 and 3, but I’m also very happy with the final result.”
Tomlin had originally planned five seasons. In his statement, he reveals that all episodes for season 2 had already been written and that there is a script for season 3. He also states that his brilliant idea for the series finale was the reason he was offered the project. However, he holds no grudges: “Netflix was very supportive of the series and gave me enormous creative freedom to do whatever I wanted. Great partners. The series was expensive and time-consuming. The only way to justify the investment would be if the audience watched it, but that just didn’t happen.”
And we could have even had a few more episodes: “I was offered the opportunity to shoot two more, maybe even three episodes to conclude the story, which I declined. I felt that the story I wanted to tell needed to be much longer, and the end of the first season actually wrapped things up at a good point.” On the one hand, it’s comforting to know that Tomlin was able to make his own creative decisions within the limitations imposed. On the other hand, the anticipation for the series finale becomes increasingly unbearable. At least Tomlin hints that he may reveal his plans someday.
Netflix has failed: Now James Cameron must save The Terminator
For now, all we have is another defeat for the franchise. However, fans should not despair completely. None other than James Cameron, its creator, recently hinted that he is involved in the development of a new film in the saga. Concrete details have not yet been released. The main question is how involved Cameron is in the project. Is he acting solely as a producer? Is he actively contributing as a screenwriter? Or is he even taking on the role of director? The latter option seems highly unlikely. After all, Cameron has two more Avatar films in production…
