Deadline has recently reported on new members joining the voice cast of Netflix’s Terminator Zero. Timothy Olyphant (Justified: City Primeval, Daisy Jones & The Six) was announced earlier this month to be playing the iconic role of The Terminator, but now, there are exciting updates to the cast of the upcoming action series.
According to Deadline, Rosario Dawson (The Lego Batman Movie, Ahsoka) will voice Kokoro, a sophisticated AI intended to rival Skynet in Japan. If launched, Kokoro will be equipped with the same abilities as Skynet.
Ann Dowd (Hereditary, The Handmaid’s Tale) will take on the role of The Prophet, a wise and philosophical leader for the human resistance, illuminating the path for survivors in the uncertain times ahead.
André Holland (Moonlight, The Big Cigar) will play Malcolm Lee. Not only is he a brilliant software engineer but he’s also a father of three, tormented by visions of an apocalyptic future.
Sonoya Mizuno (Ex Machina, House of the Dragon) will lend her voice to Eiko, a fighter for the resistance who travels back in time to prevent Malcolm from activating Kokoro.
As reported by Deadline, Terminator Zero is produced by Production IG, a renowned Japanese animation studio known for its work on Ghost in the Shell and Blood: The Last Vampire. As suggested by its name, Terminator Zero is set within the Terminator universe but focuses on new characters rather than continuing the story of previous films. This series marks the first time the Terminator franchise is being presented in an animated format.
The story unfolds in two main time periods: 2022 and 1997. 2022 is a future time period where a prolonged, violent war has been ongoing between the remaining human survivors and an immense army of machines. Meanwhile, 1997 is the past timeline where the pivotal event occurred – the artificial intelligence known as Skynet became self-aware. It initiated a devastating war against humanity, setting the stage for the future conflict.
A soldier from the future is sent back in time to alter the course of humanity’s fate. This soldier travels to 1997 with a mission to save Malcolm Lee, a scientist developing a new AI system. Malcolm is working on a design that can rival Skynet, the perpetrator of humanity’s downfall. As Malcolm works on his creation, he faces ethical and moral dilemmas regarding the implications of his AI system and its potential impact on the future. Throughout this process, Malcolm is relentlessly pursued by an assassin from the future, whose actions are set to forever change the destiny of Malcolm and his three children.
According to Deadline, Mattson Tomlin (The Sea Beast, Little Fish) acts as showrunner, executive producer and writer of the animated sci-fi series. Additional executive producers include David Ellison (Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan), Dana Goldberg (I Am Legend, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One) and Don Granger (The Tomorrow War, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts).
Terminator Zero arrives on August 29th only on Netflix.