The Terminator franchise is one of the most iconic action franchises to have come out of the 1980s and continues into modern times. Despite the mixed reception to the studio's more recent films, diehard fans will always reminisce about James Cameron's acclaimed first two films, which birthed the iconic Terminator and set the standard for great sci-fi action films.
Now getting its first animated feature, Terminator Zero takes robots and the fight for the future of humanity to Japan in the late 1990s, where a scientist is developing a rival AI system to counter the insidious Skynet. However, this time around, a new Terminator seeks to eliminate the scientist, and what stands in his way is a resistance fighter sent from the future of 2022.
© Skydance, Netflix, 2024
Anime Trending had the opportunity to interview showrunner, executive producer and writer Mattson Tomlin and director Masashi Kudo to discuss the development of Terminator Zero, the new cast of characters, and creative ways to portray violence with minimal gunplay.
Masashi Kudo — Director
How did you get involved with Terminator Zero and were you familiar with the series before?
Masahi Kudo: Yeah, it was probably three or four years ago when Production IG first approached me. Producer [từ đó] told me, “Well, we have this project.” When I heard the title, I actually asked him, “Are you asking about the Terminator?!” Obviously, I am a huge fan of the franchise. I have seen all the movies from the first one to the latest one. So when I heard the title of this project, I was just surprised.
The Terminator series started in the 80s and the most recent film came out in 2019. What makes this anime distinctly modern and how does it work? Does it have any elements inspired by older films?
Kudo: This is the first time we've set a story in Japan, and we wanted to bring back the horror feel that was present in the first Terminator movie. That's the core of this project.
© Skydance, Netflix, 2024
You mentioned that the series is set in Japan where guns are banned and the series has a lot of gunfights and action-packed scenes. What was it like navigating that requirement for this series?
Kudo: As you said, it was very difficult to put together this really large-scale gun action scene [trong loạt phim]. I discussed this a lot with Mattson, and the people who get to use guns are the police, so you're going to have to grab and carry it or rob it from [họ].
© Skydance, Netflix, 2024
But the guns the police have aren't that powerful, so the gunfights won't be flashy action scenes. We want to be creative in these action scenes so that they're fun to watch but [cũng] very different and new.
What influence do previous Terminators have on this new series?
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Kudo: For the interior, we referenced the T-800 that appeared in the first two Terminator movies. But when in human form, the skeleton is actually a giant white Westerner's body.
In Terminator Zero, this Terminator needs to infiltrate Japan and hide his identity so he needs to be sized appropriately to fit the physical body of a Japanese person. So for the model itself, we referenced the T-800, but it [được thiết kế] slightly thinner than original.
With this new series, we have a lot of new main characters. What can you tell us about these characters? How do they compare to some of the original character motivations in the show?
Kudo: Character-wise, we don't have Sarah Connor or John Connor, but completely new characters that are coming to the show for the first time in the series. Instead of trying to [trở thành] As an extension of all the previous films, we wanted to have fresh, new characters.
If you look at a character like Eiko, she's a strong female character. [vai trò] undertake [vai trò] very strong character like Sarah Connor from the third movie onwards. That's something we discussed when designing the character.
© Skydance, Netflix, 2024
What are the key highlights of Terminator: Zero and what should Terminator series fans look forward to most?
Kudo: We brought the horror from the first Terminator movie. Instead of the [cảnh] This big bombastic action, we will bring a more creepy, airy, unsettling feeling to the screen. I hope the fans will like it!
Mattson Tomlin-Showrunner, Executive Producer and Writer
What were your influences behind the story and characters in Terminator Zero?
Mattson Tomlin: I think the starting point was just Terminator. Just looking back at all the movies and looking at the whole franchise, I was like, “What are people excited about? Why is this still around 40 years later? There’s a lot of stuff that’s 40-50 years old that doesn’t exist at this level in 2024. So why is it still around?”
I had to understand a few things about it, like what makes Terminator feel like Terminator, what doesn't, what makes it feel like something else, and what would make fans angry. Then I started challenging myself: “You know, there's an opportunity here because this is the first animated piece of Terminator media. That in itself is different.” There's already a TV show [dành cho loạt phim Terminator]but never an animated TV show. It was all invitations to try to do something a little different with it.
© Skydance, Netflix, 2024
For me, what makes a Terminator is a big heart. [xoay quanh] The story of a family. I think that's what really made the first two films work. [Bên cạnh đó]the first film that scared the crap out of me. I knew I wanted to take the series back to its horror roots because since Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the series has become synonymous with $100 million+ blockbuster action movies.
I like that [và] I think that's great. But when I try to justify the existence of Terminator: Zero, the answer for me is, “Well, let's go back to the horror roots because that's something we haven't really seen in the last 40 years.”
One thing that stands out about Terminator: Zero is the decision to set the film in 1997 Tokyo, especially in terms of how difficult it is for the characters to get their weapons. So you don't get a lot of large-scale action, but the show does move into a more tightly-knit horror setting. What are some other unique aspects of the setting and the decision to set the show in Tokyo?
Tomlin: When I started doing the show, I hadn't been to Japan. I was like, “Okay, I know what Tokyo is like from the media, but what's the reality? Like, what's really going on there?” I started reading a lot of books, fiction and non-fiction, and talking to the team. The gun thing surprised me because I thought stricter gun laws meant you just had to pass a test.
I started writing a scene where Eiko is looking for a gun and smashing a truck cab to get the gun out of the glove box, and it was flagged immediately. The Japanese staff said, “No, that would never happen here because there.” [ngay từ đầu] There were no guns. The Japanese army and police will have guns, but otherwise it is not a problem. [dành cho dân thường].” A lot of it is just that.
© Skydance, Netflix
I really leaned on my partners at Production IG because I wasn't going to be in Tokyo in 1997—I was seven years old at the time. I said to them, “You're going to have to show this in a way that feels authentic and alive and completely authentic to the people who were there, but also makes it unique to the show. Meanwhile, my job is to make sure that the characters are being served and to make sure that the journey we're on is an emotional one.”
You mentioned Production IG again because this is the first anime in the Terminator series. What went into the decision to make Terminator: Zero into an anime and what are the strengths of going steady and collaborating with a studio to create it?
Tomlin: Yeah, all of that came before me. When I got the call from Netflix, they said, “We’ve partnered with Skydance, the company that owns the rights to Terminator. We’ve partnered with Production I.G. We want to do an animated show—it’s going to be a full-on animated series with a team all in Japan. We’re looking for a writer.” I wasn’t involved in putting that team together—I was kind of the final piece. [Nhưng vì nó thuộc] Production IG so I knew about them and their previous work. So I just really played to that studio's strengths and put myself in their hands so we could all create the best work possible.
We had a really fun collaboration. You know, it was difficult—I don’t speak Japanese and most of them don’t speak English. All of our meetings involved literal translators and headphones for different channels. It was a whole thing. But in doing that, it forced us to be more and more clear about what we were pursuing to make sure that nothing was lost in literal translation. I’m proud of what we did and I’m proud of what they did. So here we are!
Terminator: Zero features a new cast of characters separate from the original. What were some of your favorite aspects of writing these characters, such as Timothy Olyphant's Terminator? What does this Terminator bring to the series?
Tomlin: Yeah, there's been a lot of Terminators. There's been a lot of good Terminators and bad Terminators, and then there's the original Terminator. [do Arnold Schwarzenegger thủ vai]. [Tại một thời điểm nào đó, tôi nhận ra rằng] You're in his shadow—you're standing on his shoulders. So for me, that was an aspect that I had to figure out, like, “Are we doing a great Terminator? Are we doing an interesting Terminator? Are we doing a sexy Terminator? And the answer is none of those things.
© Skydance, Netflix, 2024
Instead, it was rumored that when James Cameron was making the first movie, he was going to cast Lance Henriksen as the Terminator, and that Henriksen was going to play an intruder. He looked like any normal guy—he could sneak in and out of places and you would never know it was him. That was the horror vibe. And then Arnold Schwarzenegger was Arnold fucking Schwarzenegger and he didn't sneak in or out of places.
© Skydance, Netflix, 2024
Just realizing that that initial concept didn't make it into the movie made me say, “Okay, I'm not going to have my Terminator in a leather jacket or sunglasses, not as bad as hell, and not as cool. But they can be a little creepy, a little cross-eyed, a little slimy, and kind of the definition of don't-want-to-meet-them-in-a-dark-alley.” So it was really just, “How do I keep the Terminator, but not do the same thing?”
Do you have any final thoughts for anime fans who may be watching the Terminator series for the first time?
Tomlin: I mean, it's really cool that people are watching Terminator: Zero as they're coming into the Terminator franchise. I mean, whether you've seen the movies or the TV show before or not, it really doesn't matter. I just hope people really enjoy it. It's been four years of hard work.
© Skydance, Netflix, 2024
Special thanks to Netflix for the interview opportunity. Terminator Zero is currently streaming on the service as of August 29, 2024.
This interview was conducted by Nico Monterosso and William Moo. Interview questions were submitted by Melvyn Tan and Nico Monterosso.
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