A notable star from Disney+’s The Mandalorian just boarded Netflix’s upcoming animated Terminator: Zero series.
Fans have known about Terminator: Zero for some time now. It is an anime executive produced by Skydance and Japan animation studio Production I.G, created by Mattson Tomlin.
The series will take place in 1997, the same year Skynet first went online. This new narrative will follow a soldier sent back in time to help a scientist named Malcolm Lee, who is working to create his own new AI system designed to be a direct competitor to Skynet.
Timothy Olyphant Joins The Terminator
The Mandalorian’s Timothy Olyphant has officially joined the cast of Netflix’s Terminator: Zero.
On June 6, Netflix held a press event called “Next on Netflix Animation,” where the studio teased its many upcoming projects within the upcoming year. During the presentation, the streamer revealed that Olyphant will voice the Terminator himself.
It’s unclear if it’s meant to be the same character as the original 1984 film or someone completely new. Netflix is currently touting that Zero will center “on characters [audiences] haven’t met yet,” so something completely fresh would be a safe bet.
While many will know Olyphant from his role as Cobb Vanth in The Mandalorian (where fans still wait to see again following his near-death experience), the actor is also known for his time on Justified, Santa Clarita Diet, Deadwood, and more.
Terminator: Zero is set to debut on Judgement Day, August 29, with eight episodes. It will be the first Terminator project since 2019’s Terminator Dark Fate.
What Should Fans Expect From Terminator: Zero?
Timothy Olyphant is a fantastic actor, so bringing him aboard any project is never a bad idea. Now, fans just have to wait to see how Netflix casts all other leading roles.
As for the idea of the show overall, some fans might scoff at the idea of Terminator: Zero going back in time to 1997. However, the angle of developing a competing AI system could provide some really engaging and interesting pieces of lore for the franchise.
Given its concept, the anime could even try to provide a fresh restart for The Terminator series as a whole.
When it comes to the future of the franchise’s live-action endeavors, it was revealed in late 2022 that James Cameron (the director of the original Terminator) was “in discussion” with the studio about rebooting the series. However, no further information has been revealed since then.
