NETFLIX Terminator Anime WILL Feature The Future War

Back in July 2021 we reported that Terminator Anime showrunner and writer Mattson Tomlin (Mother/Android, Project Power) had finished 8 scripts for the first season of the Netflix Terminator series.

Terminator Fan Tom Sklanks commented on TheTerminatorFans.com‘s official Instagram about a following interaction that he had with Mr. Tomlin on social media earlier this month. Tom asked Mattson about the anime project and was provided with some information regarding the plot.

“The animation process is starting… I couldn’t be more excited about my collaborators. The scripts are done and in great shape… An eight episode first season… Set in a past… But that isn’t to say a Future War doesn’t figure in prominently… 😎 “

— Mattson Tomlin

Even though the scripts were finished a while back; Tomlin states that the animation has only just recently started. A delay could easily be explained by the pandemic. We of course know that Mattson finished eight scripts last year, equating to eight episodes for the first season.

Although still vague and sparse, Mattson said that the story is set “in a past“. Now, the story having ‘a past’ is obviously a given, because this is a Terminator story, and Terminator stories usually involve a past, present and a future.

The real information here however, is that “a Future War” figures prominently in the show.

Now, to not do the future war scenario when fans have been crying out for years for it to happen, would be silly, especially when it would be easier to go the animated route – so it seems a given that the anime series would dabble in the future war setting in some capacity, and as always, the future outcome is always integral to the story. Showing more of the future war in the anime should please fans providing it isn’t too small a dose but there is an entire season to glimpse it, even if it doesn’t turn out to be a full on future war contained story. Episodic storytelling in this format doesn’t necessarily mean that the series can’t become fully immersed in the future war at any time, should the creators so choose.

Though it is interesting to note Tomlin’s use of the non-specific “a” in regards to “a past” and “a Future War”, so perhaps not the future war Terminator Fans might be expecting. Could this imply a new future within the Terminator universe, or simply a deeper dive into an already existing version of the future war altogether… ?

James Cameron‘s future war, Skydance Media‘s future war, or an unknown quantity?

Mattson Tomlin recently spoke to Inverse about Mother/Android and the subject of the Terminator Anime series arose, with Tomlin stating:

“I know what people want, and I know what people expect. But people will get angry with you if you just give them what they want. Because what they want is what they’ve already seen. They don’t know what they want on some level because what they want is to be surprised — but they still want the surprise to feel good.”

Mattson Tomlin told Inverse

Are you excited by this news? Are you signed up, or will be signing up to Netflix when the machines are ready to rise once again? Let us know in the comments below.

*Shout out to Tom Sklanks for the tip.