Skydance CEO David Ellison said that the series is currently being developed. While no story details were given, Ellison did say that Skydance wants to build this world across multiple platforms from films and TV to video games and comic books. He added that each experience should work on its own, but also add to the larger world. “Our gut aspiration would be a cable-driven show for something like Terminator,” Ellison added. Though not officially stated, it seems like he and Skydance COO Dana Goldberg are looking at a 13-episode season.
The news might seem to have bubbled to life out of nowhere, but it was actually first mentioned back in 2013 as an Agents of SHIELD-style companion series to the new Terminator franchise kicking off with Genisys. At the time, the show was said to explore an element from the original 1984 film not just in greater detail, but down different paths. Thor and X-Men: First Class writers Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller were involved back then, but they were not mentioned this time around.
The new series would mark the second foray into live action television for the killer robot series. The first, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, ran on Fox for two seasons with Miller and Stentz as writers. Though it performed well, Fox cancelled the series in 2009. Many thought it got the axe in favor of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, which did not do as well in the ratings as a make-good for Firefly. Studio execs at the time cited budget and ratings as the reason for cancellation.
This time around the franchise shepherds have many more options for the new show from streaming outlets like Netflix and cable networks to basic cable offerings. It seems like a safe bet, though, that they won’t set the new show at Fox.