When Terminator Zero Takes Place In The Terminator Timeline

Summary Terminator Zero introduces a new storyline in the franchise, focusing on events in 1997 and a future war in 2022.

The show's setting indicates a departure from Rise of the Machines, aligning more closely with Dark Fate's timeline.

The connection to both past and future timelines in Terminator Zero suggests significant implications for the franchise moving forward.

Netflix's new Terminator series, Terminator Zero will have profound implications for the franchise's notoriously messy timeline, coming at a crucial moment in the series. The Terminator timeline has always been subject to change, with each installment seemingly offering a new interpretation of the events outlined in the original movie. While one of the biggest themes of the franchise has been that there is "no fate but what we make", this flexibility has made things difficult to follow – a trend that Terminator Zero could either continue or clarify.

Because of the multiple revisions over the years, it's difficult to establish an exact chronology for the Terminator saga. Starting in 1984, the franchise has established multiple branching timelines, with movies like Salvation and Genisys taking place in separate possible futures, and Dark Fate retconning the series altogether and picking up directly after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day. This constantly changing story makes it difficult to judge where an individual story sits, or what implications it will have for the wider franchise. Nevertheless, Terminator Zero's unique story and setting do provide some important clues.

Terminator Zero Mostly Takes Place In 1997

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According to the official synopsis provided by Netflix, Terminator Zero is set to move the franchise back in time, focusing primarily on events in 1997. However, the show will also encompass a new version of 2022, where humanity is left dealing with the consequences of Skynet's war. As the press release explains:

2022: A future war has raged for decades between the few human survivors and an endless army of machines. 1997: The AI known as Skynet gained self-awareness and began its war against humanity. Caught between the future and this past is a soldier sent back in time to change the fate of humanity. She arrives in 1997 to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who works to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet’s impending attack on humanity. As Malcolm navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he is hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future which forever alters the fate of his three children.

This information reveals some key details about the show's relationship to previous Terminator projects. Crucially, the show is set to take place after the events of Terminator 2 and before Rise of the Machines. However, the emphasis on Skynet gaining sentience in 1997 suggests that Zero, much like Dark Fate, is ignoring Rise of the Machines and is instead sticking closer to Cameron's template from the 2019 movie – albeit with an actual war beginning in 1997.

Related Every Terminator Viewing Order: Chronological, Release, & More The Terminator timeline is tricky so here are some of the potential viewing orders for movies in the Terminator franchise.

Terminator Zero Also Connects To The Future Timeline In 2022

Interestingly, just as the decision to center the show around 1997 deliberately ties Terminator Zero to the original timeframe established in early Terminator films, the 2022 setting also has historic franchise connections. In the original Terminator timeline, 2022 is still defined by the raging human vs machine war, with Skynet's defeat not coming until 2029. This means that the show could portray previously unseen aspects of the conflict.

...the latest entry into the Terminator franchise will have profound implications for what comes next and what's gone before.

Alternatively, 2022 is a very similar setting to futures seen in Salvation (2018), Genisys (2029), and Dark Fate (2020), meaning that the show could include elements from any and all of these stories, should it wish. The fact that the synopsis indicates that a war is raging in 2022 suggests that some of these timelines are more likely than others. Alternatively, it could mean that a whole new timeline is being established, paving the way for a total theatrical reboot. Either way, the latest entry into the Terminator franchise will have profound implications for what comes next and what's gone before.