The last several years has seen Netflix become an anime hub with a library of well-known and original series, and the service has shown no signs of slowing down with plenty of new series on the way. Among those is the upcoming Terminator Zero, which provided a first look at the series that will take the beloved sci-fi franchise to Japan in its latest installment.

Terminator Zero's first look was given a notable spotlight as part of Entertainment Weekly's summer preview, with the series' showrunner Mattson Tomlin, on-hand to discuss how he went about making Terminator Zero feel distinct from the franchise's many films. He acknowledged that while the anime regards all six Terminator films as canon, despite the timeline tampering, the real challenge was making it feel distinct through both tone and setting it in Japan.

“I was aware that there aren't really guns in Japan, and I don't think I quite appreciated how real that was,” Tomlin told EW about one of the early predicaments he faced when writing the show. “My partners at Production I.G came back and said, ‘Hey, so…there are no guns [in Japan]. If we needed a gun, we don't know where we would get it.' It was just such a stunning moment for me, like, ‘Oh, wow, I am an American.'”

As for the tone, Tomlin hinted that the series will lean into the horror-esque style of the original 1984 film to compliment Terminator Zero's emphasis on hand-to-hand action.

Tomlin also confirmed that, in a franchise first, the series will not feature John or Sarah Connor to keep the focus on its new characters, Malcolm Lee and his family

Several stills from Terminator Zero were included, as well, to give audiences a first taste of what animation studio Production I.G has been cooking up. At first glance, Terminator Zero appears to feature a hybrid 2D/3D art style which has become far more commonplace in modern anime between series like Attack on Titan and Berzerk.

No Fate But What We Make

Terminator Zero will take the franchise back to 1997, on the eve of Judgment Day, for its new story set in Japan.

The series will center on Malcolm Lee, a scientist working for one of Cyberdyne Systems' rivals attempting to launch its own artificial intelligence as a means to compete with Skynet. Lee's life is upended when a mysterious assassin begins targeting him and his three children for seemingly no reason. They find help in an equally mysterious soldier claiming to be from the year 2022 that has been sent back to protect them from this would-be assassin, the Terminator.

Netflix and Mattson Tomlin turned to seasoned animation house Production I.G to help bring the series to life, leaning on the studio's near-40-years of experience in anime. The studio has amassed an impressive resume in that time which includes titles such as the popular series Haikyu!! and massively influential 1995 film Ghost in the Shell.

Terminator Zero is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on August 29, 2024.