The battle
against Skynet in animated format has come to a premature end. The
cancellation of Terminator Zero after a single season on Netflix has
been officially confirmed. The creator and showrunner of the series, Mattson
Tomlin, ratified the decision citing insufficient viewership as the
determining factor for not renewing the project.
orld premiere on August 29, 2024,
the series produced by Production I.G failed to reach the viewership
base needed to warrant a continuation.
Terminator
Zero cancellation details
Tomlin
explained that although the reception was positive, the final numbers were not
enough. A significant external factor that affected the performance was a
massive leak of all eight episodes roughly three weeks before the official
release. This hacking incident impacted the initial momentum and legitimate
viewing metrics on the platform.
Regarding
the narrative future he had planned, Tomlin commented:
Mattson
Tomlin (Showrunner):
"I would have loved to deliver on the Future War that I had planned for
seasons 2 and 3, but I'm also very happy with how the contained story feels as
it is."
Voice
cast and production
The series
stood out for combining Hollywood talent with Japanese animation. The
English voice cast included:
- Timothy
Olyphant as the Terminator
- Sonoya
Mizuno as Eiko
- Rosario
Dawson as AI Kokoro
- André
Holland as Malcolm Lee
- Ann
Dowd as the Prophet
About Terminator Zero
The series,
a collaboration between Netflix Animation and Skydance
Television, moved the action to Tokyo in 1997, just before "Judgment
Day." The plot follows scientist Malcolm Lee, who develops an
artificial intelligence called Kokoro to counter Skynet, becoming the target of
a cybernetic assassin sent from the future.
With this
decision, Terminator Zero joins the list of Netflix animated
projects that conclude after a single installment, leaving the story as a
self-conclusive arc that explores moral dilemmas about artificial intelligence
and destiny.
