In the sci-fi genre, there are limited franchises that have made a name for themselves. While there are worthy competitors like Star Wars and Star Trek, many of them couldn’t come close to James Cameron’s Terminator. To continue riding on the wave of success, the franchise decided to feature the cyborg in a never-before-seen avatar with Terminator Zero.
Despite the main attraction of the franchise being Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role of T-800, Linda Hamilton’s portrayal of Sarah Connor was immensely loved by the fans of the OG film series. Despite much of her fame and massive fan following, the anime series did not feature her in the narrative.
Instead, they decided to feature an original character, which was a huge gamble that paid back big time. Primarily, because fans did not find the lack of Connor overwhelming in the series, as they loved to see Eiko carrying the show without breaking a sweat.
Eiko Effectively Replaced Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in Terminator Zero
Skydance’s Terminator Zero has taken the world by storm, as the anime series has retold the story of the original series, where a murderous cyborg is sent from the future to terminate their target to eliminate the incongruency present in the timeline.
The anime series tried to preserve the conflict of the original series, but with a modern twist, where all the action takes place in 1997 Japan, where there has been a new set of problems following the show. Though the original movies featured Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in the lead female role, here she was replaced by Eiko, who came from a distant future in 2022.
Fans were hesitant to see the new character in the show but she became a prominent part of the show, especially her being quite similar to the original character from the film.
During an exclusive interview with Anime Trendz, Masashi Kudo, the director of the series, opened up about how they wanted to preserve the essence of the original characters while showcasing something new to the series. He said,
In terms of the characters, we don’t have Sarah Connor or John Connor, but all-new characters that appear for the first time in this series. Instead of trying to [become] an extension of all the previous films, we wanted to have fresh, new characters.
He further added,
If you look at a character like Eiko, she’s a strong female character [that] takes on that very strong lead [role] like Sarah Connor from the third film onwards. That was something we discussed when we designed the characters.
Nevertheless, the anime series has become a massive hit, and it was the series being an anime that kept all the possibilities alive.
Additionally, the gripping narrative and the outstanding characters added to it, where fans did not miss a Sarah Connor-shaped void.
Mattson Tomlin Gets Candid on How Fans Will Feel About The Anime Adaptation
There’s no denying that Terminator Zero has resonated with the essence of the original film, and it featured the best of both worlds. Though the setting is in the late ’90s, everything seems natural, and robots feel like a part of society.
The anime had raised eyebrows among fans, as they were skeptical about the show and the narrative that it would display. Hence, in the same interview with Anime Trendz, Mattson Tomlin, the showrunner of Terminator Zero, opens up about how the fans of the art form will feel about this show. He said,
I mean, it’s very cool to me that somebody is watching Terminator: Zero as their entry into the Terminator franchise. I would say, whether or not you watch the movies or TV show first, it doesn’t really matter. I just hope people really like this. It’s been four years of very hard work.
Indeed, the fans have shown a liking towards the show, as it features a rating of 7.2 on IMDb. However, taking an infectiously popular show and making an anime series out of it that too without featuring a key character while adding a twist to it should deserve praise from the fans.
Terminator Zero can be streamed on Netflix.
