Terminator Zero's Time-Traveling Hero Has Something In Common With Kyle Reese

For whatever reason, ever since 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," the "Terminator" franchise just hasn't been able to escape its own shadow. Every successive film in the saga has been seemingly unable to reinvigorate the series, and part of the issue has been a persistent desire to recreate and pay homage to the movies that first established the franchise as the gargantuan it is. Whether it was "Terminator Salvation" and its uncanny CGI version of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, or "Terminator Genisys" attempting to literally revisit the opening scenes of the original "Terminator," the series can't seem to let the past go.

But as fans know all too well, there is no fate but what we make for ourselves. In other words, there's no reason why successive generations need to cling to past iterations to do the source material justice. There's a reason why characters such as Batman and Bond have been able to endure on film for decades, and it has something to do with giving filmmakers free rein to reimagine the source material how they see fit. That seems to be something Mattson Tomlin, showrunner on Netflix's upcoming anime series "Terminator Zero" seems to understand.

While the new series won't abandon the original (and needlessly complex) "Terminator" timeline completely, it will very much tell its own story. Not only will this be the first on-screen entry in the franchise to not revolve around either Sarah or John Connor in any capacity, but Tomlin is actually resurrecting creator James Cameron's original vision for the Terminator. That is to say that the central killer cyborg in this animated series will not be a hulking, chiseled Austrian but a creepy, unremarkable infiltrator. That said, there is one element of the original "Terminator" that it seems Tomlin is keen to emulate.

When "The Terminator" debuted in 1984, it wasn't expected to succeed. A sci-fi B-movie helmed by the guy who took over directing duties on the abysmal "Piranha II: The Spawning" didn't exactly scream cultural phenomenon. But that's exactly what "The Terminator" became. The movie saw Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) sent back in time from a post-apocalyptic future to save Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the mother of John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance. Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger's unrelenting killer cyborg was also sent back from the future to try to take out Sarah, resulting in a sort of sci-fi slasher that was truly novel for its time.

For Mattson Tomlin, while "Terminator Zero" wasn't going to recreate the original film, that didn't mean the writer had to disregard the principles at play in "The Terminator." For one, Tomlin has spoken about bringing back the horror element, which was so crucial to giving the first film and its sequel this haunting sense of doom. But beyond that, Tomlin seems to have an appreciation for the story mechanics at play in Cameron's original film. Speaking about Kyle Reese, he told Entertainment Weekly, "You don't know what's going on with that guy. You do not know that he is the hero." It seems Tomlin was keen to recreate that same sense with "Zero." He continued: "These are all original characters. We don't know who anybody is. All of those answers are going to absolutely be revealed — and they'll be revealed pretty quickly."

So, in a series that does its best to tell an original story and not revisit too much of what has come before, how does Tomlin plan to integrate that same sense of mystery that surrounded Kyle Reese?

"Terminator Zero" follows a scientist named Malcolm Lee, who in the year 1997 creates an AI designed to provide an alternative to Skynet, the original AI that launched an all-out war on humans. This being a "Terminator" story, Lee soon becomes the target of a killer cyborg from the future. But he's also helped by a human protector in the form of Eiko, who's sent back in time from 2022 by the human resistance. While there's no mention of any Connors or Austrian cyborgs, it seems Mattson Tomlin still wanted to infuse this series with some hallmarks of James Cameron's original vision.

In the latest issue of Empire magazine, Tomlin explained more about "Zero," elaborating more on the fact that his show encountered a hilarious problem due to its Japanese setting. The writer had initially included a scene where Eiko attempts to steal a gun, but as he explained, "My Japanese producers said it would never happen. Japan's not like America, with guns everywhere – if you want a gun there, you take 12 weeks, go to school, learn the laws..." But perhaps more interesting were his comments about his appreciation for 1984's "The Terminator." Specifically, he spoke more about the sense of not knowing who was good and who was bad: "The model for Eiko was Kyle Reese. Her motives are grey at first. But she's hiding something meaningful, and when it's revealed, it will hit audiences like a f*****g two-by-four."

This is yet another promising update from Tomlin, who seems to grasp the importance of evoking the feeling of the original "Terminator" without shackling himself to some tortured, fan-focused recreation of its events. Let's hope it pans out and this isn't just "The Terminator" but anime.