Netflix has been all-in when it comes to the anime world. This month alone, one of its biggest anime originals is returning to the small screen, as Baki-Dou will hit the streaming service on February 26th. Unfortunately, the platform’s focus on anime doesn’t mean that every series is safe from cancellation. In a surprise twist, one of the biggest anime originals from Netflix in recent years has been cancelled, according to its creator. Netflix has yet to release an official statement to back up the creator’s statement, but considering fans have received no updates on the animated universe of Skynet, it makes sense.
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Terminator Zero premiered in 2024, seeing Netflix teaming up with Production I.G. to create an original story in the franchise. Focusing on the rise of Skynet and the creation of a new artificial intelligence to fight it, the series combined the tried and true Terminators with some wild new automations across its eight-episode series. Recently taking to social media, series creator Matt Tomlinson confirmed that Terminator Zero has ended, “It was cancelled. 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 seasons 2 and 3, but I’m also very happy with how it feels contained as is.”
Terminator’s Renewal Chances Are Zero
Tomlinson was also appreciative of Netflix’s support, stating that while he was happy that any part of the story was animated, he did have plans for up to five total seasons, “Netflix was really great about supporting the show and giving me tremendous creative freedom to do what I wanted to do. Good partners. The show was expensive and very time-consuming. The only way they could justify it was if the audience showed up for it, and they just didn’t.”
Tomlinson also confirmed that even though the anime original isn’t moving forward, he has already written all the scripts for season two, with an outline of season three. When Matt originally pitched the series, he had a five-season storyline in mind, and the animator is currently mulling whether to share the story details in a future update. Tomlinson also confirmed that he might be willing to end the story in a “different form,” though it certainly won’t be wrapping the dark future on Netflix.
In another surprise twist, the Terminator Zero creator confirmed that Netflix had offered him the chance to do two to three additional episodes to wrap the story, but he “declined.” According to Tomlinson, the first season finale ended in a “good place,” and he was happy with the story wrapping there. At present, the Terminator franchise doesn’t have any new movies and/or anime series that have been confirmed, though we have to imagine that the T-100s will make a return at some point.
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