It looks like the war against Skynet has officially come to an end at Netflix. The streamer has pulled the plug on Terminator Zero after just one season, and now creator Mattson Tomlin has confirmed the news himself while opening up about what could have been.
The anime series, which expanded the legendary Terminator universe into a new animated chapter, debuted in August 2024. Since then, fans have been waiting to hear whether Season 2 would happen. Now we know it won’t.
Tomlin took to X to break the news and reflect on the show’s run. He wrote:
“The critical and audience reception to it was tremendous, but at the end of the day not nearly enough people watched it. I would’ve loved to deliver on the Future War I had planned in season’s 2 and 3, but I’m also very happy with how it feels contained as is.”
Tomlin also revealed just how far along he was in mapping out the larger story:
“Maybe someday I’ll do a big thread about the plans I had for the full five season run. The series finale was special and it was part of my pitch to get the job.
“I’ve written all of the season two scripts and outlined pretty much all of season three…Maybe I will return to that world in a different form. I really do love it, and it was extremely gratifying to see so many people connect with it the way they did.”
That’s a tough pill to swallow for fans who were hoping to see the Future War unfold across multiple seasons. Knowing that Season 2 scripts are already written makes it sting even more.
Set within the iconic Terminator franchise timeline, Terminator Zero followed a brand-new story threaded into the larger mythology. The official logline reads:
“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.”
The series featured an impressive English-language voice cast including André Holland, Sonoya Mizuno, Sumalee Montano, Gideon Adlon, Armani Jackson, Carter Rockwood, Rosario Dawson, and Timothy Olyphant.
The Japanese voice cast included Yūya Uchida, Toa Yukinari, Saori Hayami, Hiro Shimono, Miyuki Sato, Shizuka Ishigami, Atsumi Tanezaki, and Yasuhiro Mamiya.
Tomlin developed the anime and served as showrunner and executive producer. Masashi Kudo directed the series, with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger executive producing through Skydance. Animation was handled by Production IG.
While the cancellation isn’t shocking given the long silence from Netflix after the premiere, this marks the first official confirmation that the series won’t return for Season 2. At least Tomlin crafted a finale that works as a contained ending, which softens the blow a bit.
Still, it’s hard not to imagine what a full five-season arc might’ve looked like!