Terminator (franchise)


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 battles between Skynet's synthetic intelligent machine network and John Connor's Resistance forces with the rest 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.

Setting

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, 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 therefore 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 ability 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.

Judgment Day

In the franchise, Judgment Day is referred to as the date on which Skynet becomes self-aware, decides to exterminate humanity, and launches a nuclear attack on Russia to provoke a nuclear counter-strike against the United States. Due to time travel and the consequent ability to change the future, several differing dates are given for Judgment Day. In ', 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 the retroactively erased timelines of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth films, as well as the television series, creating a set of multiverse. In ' and Terminator Salvation, Judgment Day was postponed to July 2003. In ', the attack on Cyberdyne Systems in the second film delayed Judgment Day to April 21, 2011. In Terminator Genisys, 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 ', the direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, an exact date is not given for the new Judgment Day though it is named as such by Grace.

Franchise rights

Before the first film was created, director James Cameron sold the rights for $1 to Gale Anne Hurd, who produced the film. 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. 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. However, the rights were ultimately auctioned to Vajna in 1997, for $8 million. Vajna and Kassar spent another $8 million to purchase Hurd's half of the rights in 1998, becoming the full owners of the franchise. Hurd was initially opposed to the sale of the rights, while Cameron had lost interest in the franchise and a third film.
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, 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. In 2010, the rights were sold for $29.5 million to Pacificor, a hedge fund that was Halcyon's largest creditor. 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 due to the possibility of Cameron regaining the rights in 2019, as a result of new North American copyright laws. David Ellison and Skydance Productions produced Terminator Genisys in 2015.
Cameron worked together with David Ellison to produce the 2019 film Terminator: Dark Fate. 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".

Films

''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, machines 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 handicapping the resistance from ever 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)

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 machines 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 the previous film. After years of preparing for the future war, Sarah decides to use the same tactics the machines 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)

, 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 at the end of Terminator 2, the Skynet takeover has been postponed, not averted. In an attempt to ensure a victory by the machines, a new Terminator, the T-X, is sent back to terminate the lives of 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, 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 it and sends it 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, and stars Christian Bale as John Connor and Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright. 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 to which 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 are coming online sooner than expected. The film also stars Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, 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, in addition, 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 actions throughout a previous timeline. Prior to this alteration, on the verge of winning the war against Skynet, John Connor sends his trusted right-hand officer Kyle Reese 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, therefore, Sarah Connor was brought up by a reprogrammed Terminator, 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, the T-1000 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, whose investigation into Terminators and time travelers lead 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.

''Terminator: Dark Fate'' (2019)

' 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. The film also stars Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Gabriel Luna. Jude Collie and Brett Azar were also cast as a young John Connor and a younger T-800, respectively. Terminator Genisys was intended to be the first film in a new stand-alone film trilogy, but the planned sequels were cancelled following the film's disappointing box-office performance. Genisys producer David Ellison recruited James Cameron to produce a new film with him, which would become Terminator: Dark Fate. The film is intended as the first in a new trilogy of Terminator films. In the film, the machines send a Terminator, Rev-9, back in time to eliminate Dani Ramos, whose destiny is linked to the Human Resistance's war against them. The Resistance sends one of their soldiers Grace back to protect her, and a chain of events lead Grace and Dani to join forces with Sarah Connor and the T-800.
The writers' room included Josh Friedman, creator of the television series '. Other writers included David S. Goyer, Justin Rhodes and Billy Ray. 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 should the film prove successful. 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. Filming began in Isleta del Moro, Almería on June 4, 2018, shooting for a month there, before shooting the rest in the United States.

Television

''Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'' (2008–2009)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles follows Sarah and John Connor 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, both sent back in time to protect the Connors and prevent another Judgment Day.

Web series

''Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series'' (2009)

Set in 2016, years after Judgment Day, Blair Williams is fighting the war against the machines in downtown Los Angeles, while tracking down the computer hacker named Laz Howard and trying to persuade him to join sides with the resistance.

''Terminator Genisys: The YouTube Chronicles'' (2015)

Terminator Genisys: The YouTube Chronicles was released in three parts on June 22, 2015 to promote the fifth film, produced by Heresy. The web series was directed by Charles Paek and written by Jay Bushman. It features several popular YouTube stars appearing with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T-800, as they stand together to against the T-360.

Cast and crew

Principal cast


Key

  • A indicates the actor portrayed the role of a younger version of the character.
  • An indicates a role as an older version of the character.
  • A indicates the actor or actress lent only his or her voice for his or her film character.
  • An indicates the model served as a body double, with the actor or actress's likeness superimposed onto the model.
  • An indicates the actor or actress lent only their likeness for his or her film character.
  • An indicates an appearance through a photographic still.
  • An indicates an appearance through archival footage.
  • A dark gray cell indicates the character was not in the film.

Additional crew

Reception

Box office performance

Critical and public response

TelevisionRotten TomatoesMetacritic
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 76% 74
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 94% 67

Cultural impact

The Terminator franchise, most notably James Cameron's original films, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, has had a significant impact on popular culture. The film franchise placed #17 on the top 25 greatest film franchises by IGN and is also in the top 30 highest-grossing franchises. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the Terminator franchise is the sixth highest rated franchise on the site behind the Toy Story franchise, the Dollars Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the Mad Max franchise, and the original Star Wars trilogy, but in front of the Indiana Jones franchise.
The Terminator has been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "Culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The American Film Institute has also recognized both films on a number of occasions: the line "I'll be back" from The Terminator placed as the 37th-best movie quote, while "Hasta la vista, baby" from Terminator 2 ranked 76th on the same list. The Terminator character from The Terminator was voted the 22nd-greatest villain; meanwhile, the T-800 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day was voted the 48th-greatest hero; this is the only time the same character has appeared on the two opposing lists. In the 100 Years...100 series list, the Terminator franchise was voted the 42nd most thrilling. In addition, Terminator 2: Judgment Day ranked 8th on AFI's top 10 list in the science fiction genre.
Both films are the source of numerous pop culture references, such as the use of "I'll be back" in countless other media, including different variations of the phrase by Arnold himself in many of his subsequent films, and in cameo appearances by Robert Patrick as the T-1000, in Last Action Hero and Wayne's World. The Simpsons have also spoofed both films, and the T-1000 in particular, on a number of occasions.
The references are also made when Schwarzenegger was elected as California governor during the recall election, which a newspaper headline said "Davis Terminated." Schwarzenegger was nicknamed "the governator", a portmanteau of governor and Terminator.
Terminator 2 is the only film in the series to garner attention at the Academy Awards, with six nominations and four wins and is rated highly among critics. In 2006 the readers of Total Film rated The Terminator as cinema's 72nd best film, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day the 33rd.
The first five Terminator films have had very respectable box office gross, though after James Cameron left the series it saw diminishing returns in subsequent films. The Terminator made $78 million worldwide, far surpassing its $6 million budget and becoming a major sleeper hit. Terminator 2: Judgment Day grossed approximately $520 million globally, becoming a major blockbuster and the top-grossing film of 1991. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines earning $433 million, making it the seventh highest-grossing film of 2003. Terminator Salvation grossed an estimated $371 million worldwide, a figure below industry expectations. Terminator Genisys grossed $440 million. Terminator: Dark Fate raised approximately 261 million worldwide far below the expectations of the industry, becoming the least successful film in the franchise..

Music

Soundtracks

Other media

Video games

Various video games have been released since 1991.

Novels

A series of novels were released from 2001 to 2004, under the name T2.

Comics

In 1988, NOW Comics published an ongoing series with John Connor as the main character in 2031, after sending Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect his mother. The Terminators in this canon had more human-like endoskeletons, and some issues would deal with subordinates of Connor's in the ruins of certain geographic areas. The seventeen issue series was followed by two limited series.
Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights in 1990 and published The Terminator, where a group of human soldiers and four Terminators come to the present, to respectively kill or protect the developers of Skynet. One of the Terminators is Dudley, a human doctor with cybernetic implants, and he betrays his group as he feels he can make a difference in the past. In the following year's sequel Secondary Objectives, the surviving Terminator leader, C890.L, is reprogrammed to destroy another Terminators sent to aid him and kill Sarah Connor. In the immediate follow-up The Enemy Within, C890.L rebuilds and modifies himself to become more dangerous than ever, while a team of human assassins attempt to return to the past and kill a Skynet developer. The 1992 Endgame concludes this arc, with human colonel Mary Randall, having lost Dudley and her soldiers in the final battle with C890.L, protecting Sarah Connor as she goes into labor. Sarah gives birth to a girl named Jane, whose future leadership means Skynet is quickly defeated and never develops time travel.
Dark Horse published a 1992 one-shot written by James Dale Robinson and drawn by Matt Wagner. It followed a female Terminator and a resistance fighter battling for the life of another Sarah Connor: Sarah Lang, who has married artist Michael Connor and intends to kill him for his money. The following year they published the limited series Hunters and Killers, set during the war, where special Terminators with ceramic skeletons and genuine organs are created to impersonate leaders in the Russian resistance. Another limited series was published in 1998, focusing on the misadventures of two malfunctioning Terminators in Death Valley. They kill a man named Ken Norden, mistaking his wife Sara and son Jon for the Connors. This set up the following year's comic The Dark Years, where Jon Norden fights alongside John Connor in 2030. In The Dark Years, another Terminator is sent to eliminate John and his mother in 1999. In 2013, Dark Horse released a sequel comic based on the 2009 film Terminator Salvation, entitled '.
Terminators have crossed over with RoboCop, Superman, and Alien vs. Predator. In RoboCop versus The Terminator and ', the heroes must prevent the war ravaged future. In 2000, Dark Horse also published Alien versus Predator versus The Terminator, where Skynet, which went dormant after Connor defeated it, has returned and is creating an Alien-Terminator hybrid. The Ellen Ripley clone and the Predators join forces to stop Skynet.
Malibu Comics published twin series in 1995. One was a sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where Sarah and John encounter two T-800s and a female T-1000. The other was a prequel exploring how Connor sent Reese and the T-800 back in time, and the creation of the T-1000. The conclusions of both series were published in one issue.
Beckett Comics published three series to promote Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, each consisting of two issues.
The comic book series by Dynamite Entertainment depicts Connor on July 17, 2009. Kate Brewster died the year before, and he is aided by a future Terminator named Uncle Bob. They create a homing signal to bring together other human survivors, beginning the resistance. The series is also tied into another one of Dynamite's publications, Painkiller Jane, for two issues. Dynamite are releasing a sequel Terminator: Revolution and at all the same time IDW Publishing are releasing a Salvation tie-in, possible because the former is based on the Terminator 2 license.

Collectible card game

The Terminator Collectible Card Game was released in 2000 by Precedence.

Theme park attractions

opened at Universal Studios Florida in 1996. operated at various locations beginning in 2009. operated at California's Six Flags Magic Mountain from 2009 to 2010.

Cancelled projects

''Terminator Salvation'' trilogy

On May 9, 2007, it was announced that production rights to the Terminator series had passed from the feuding of Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar to The Halcyon Company. The producers of the company hoped to start a new trilogy based on the franchise. However, due to the box office failure of the fourth film and legal troubles, the Salvation trilogy was ultimately cancelled. William Wisher, who co-wrote the first two films, had written material for a potential Terminator 5 and Terminator 6 that would follow on from the events of Terminator Salvation. The two-part story would involve an element of time travel that brings back the deceased character of Sarah Connor, allowing her to interact with Kyle Reese beyond their initial meeting in the first film. Schwarzenegger would also reprise his role for the sixth film. The films would also include new Terminator villains from Skynet. Wisher had written a 24-page film treatment for Terminator 5 and a four-page concept outline for Terminator 6.

''Terminator Genisys'' trilogy

By December 2013, there were plans for Terminator Genisys to be the start of a new trilogy of films. In September 2014, Paramount announced release dates for the two Genisys sequels: May 19, 2017 and June 29, 2018. Terminator Genisys producer David Ellison described the film and its intended trilogy as standalone projects based on Cameron's original Terminator films. Ellison said Terminator Genisys is neither a sequel or a prequel to the previous films, saying "For us this is Terminator 1, this is not Terminator 5". The sequels to Genisys were tentatively known as Terminator 2 and Terminator 3. The two sequels were to be filmed back to back during nine months of continuous shooting.
The storylines for the two sequels were devised by Genisys writers Kalogridis and Lussier. The trilogy was being planned out before Terminator Genisys began filming, as producers David Ellison and Dana Goldberg wanted the full storyline finished ahead of time rather than having to "figure it out as you go along," stating, "We spent a lot of time breaking that down, and we do know what the last line of the third movie is, should we be lucky enough to get to make it." Production on the sequels was contingent on whether Terminator Genisys would be successful; development of the trilogy stalled in 2015 after the film's disappointing box-office performance. The planned sequels were ultimately cancelled, with Terminator 2 being removed from Paramount's release schedule in January 2016.
The new trilogy would have explained who sent Pops back in time to protect Sarah Connor. In February 2015, Schwarzenegger said he would reprise his role as Pops for the second film in the trilogy, with filming set to begin in 2016. Jai Courtney and Matt Smith would also reprise their respective roles as Kyle Reese and Skynet. J. K. Simmons would have had further involvement in the new trilogy, and Dayo Okeniyi would have a significant role reprising his character Danny Dyson in the second film, which would have focused on John Connor's life after becoming part machine. Jason Clarke said about the cancelled Genisys sequel:

''Terminator Genisys''-connected television series

By December 2013, Skydance Productions and Annapurna Pictures were developing a new Terminator television series. Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, who had worked together previously on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, were named as writers and executive producers. The series was said to deviate from the franchise's history at a critical moment in 1984's The Terminator, and would also integrate with the then-projected film series' direct sequels to Terminator Genisys.

''Terminator: Dark Fate'' trilogy

Plans for a new Terminator film trilogy were announced in July 2017. While working on the story for Terminator: Dark Fate that year, Cameron and the writers envisioned the film as the first in the new trilogy. They also worked out the basic storylines for each planned film.
In October 2019, Cameron said that sequels to Terminator: Dark Fate would further explore the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, while stating that a resolution between the two feuding sides would be the ultimate outcome. That month, Schwarzenegger said that Cameron would write the Terminator: Dark Fate sequels, and that Cameron would begin work on the next film in early 2020, for release in 2022.
Although the events of Terminator: Dark Fate erase Schwarzenegger's T-800 character from existence, Cameron did not rule out the possibility of Schwarzenegger reprising the character: "Look, if we make a shit ton of money with this film and the cards say that they like Arnold, I think Arnold can come back. I'm a writer. I can think of scenarios. We don't have a plan for that right now, let me put it that way." Natalia Reyes was to reprise her role for a sequel. Hamilton said in October 2019 that she would probably reprise her role as well, although she joked that she would fake her own death to avoid appearing in it, saying that making Terminator: Dark Fate "really was hard" because of the physical training she had to undergo. Hamilton later said that she would be happy not to star in another Terminator film, but she kept the possibility open, with a potential exception being that a sequel be done on a smaller scale and budget.
Dark Fate director Tim Miller said in November 2019 that he did not expect to return for a sequel. Production of a sequel was contingent on whether Dark Fate was a box-office success. Following the underwhelming performance of Dark Fate at the box-office, sources close to Skydance told The Hollywood Reporter that there are no plans for further films, effectively cancelling the planned Dark Fate trilogy.