How Terminator Genisys Fits Into Terminator’s Timeline & Franchise

2015’s Terminator Genisys was set to reinvent the Terminator series and relaunch the franchise. Here’s how Genisys tie into Terminator’s timeline.

Terminator Genisys (2015) brought the Terminator franchise back to the big screen six years after Terminator: Salvation, but its place in the Terminator timeline can be confusing. Following the disastrous Terminator: Salvation, the future of the Terminator franchise was up in the air. Genisys promised to reinvent the Terminator series, combining classic elements like the T-800 and Skynet with new, fresh plotlines.

Terminator Genisys delved into the sci-fi aspect of Terminator and delivered a very action-packed film. Genisys was supposed to be a celebration of the original Terminator movie while also serving as the starting point for new audiences. While Terminator Genisys did not bomb at the box office – it grossed $440 million on a $155 million budget – the film had to be a massive hit if it wanted to launch a new Terminator franchise.

Genisys Is A Reboot Of The Terminator Franchise

Terminator Genisys is not a direct sequel to any of the Terminator movies but rather a reboot of the franchise. The idea was for Terminator Genisys to be the starting point of a new Terminator saga, and there were plans for a Genisys trilogy. Unlike Terminator: Salvation, which sort of tried to be a prequel to the original Terminator, Genisys reinvented the events of the first movie. Original Terminator characters Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese were brought back, now played by Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney, respectively. Arnold Schwarzenegger reprised his role as the T-800, although this version of the Terminator had a very different backstory.

Terminator: Genisys revisited classic moments from the first two Terminator films, but with a twist. This time, Sarah Connor was somehow ready for what was coming once Kyle Reese and the T-800 arrived from the future. Likewise, Terminator Genisys’ John Connor twist set it apart from other Terminator films. In this new version of the Terminator story, the war between humans and machines was concluded in 2029. The launch of Skynet, now under the name of Genisys, was set to happen in 2017. Instead of assuring Sarah or John’s survival, the heroes’ mission in Genisys was to prevent the Genisys operating system from launching.

Terminator Genisys Creates A New Terminator Timeline

Terminator Genisys is a reboot. However, in-universe, Genisys can be considered of many Terminator timelines. Genisys’ biggest deviation from the original Terminator timeline is that, in this chronology, a T-800 was sent to 1973 to protect and train a nine-year-old Sarah Connor. Therefore, by the time the events of 1984’s Terminator were supposed to happen, Emilia Clarke’s Sarah Connor already knew what to expect. What caused this major deviation from Terminator’s original timeline is difficult to say, as Genisys does not reveal who sent the T-800 back to 1973. Regardless, the T-800 meeting with nine-year-old Sarah Connor changed the entire chain of events portrayed in the original Terminator films.

Another major deviation from the original Terminator timeline happened in the far future. In 2029, humanity won the war against the machines. However, just as John Connor was about to send Kyle Reese to the past to make sure he and Sarah Connor could meet, Skynet captured John Connor. Alex, a physical manifestation of Skynet in the form of a T-5000 Terminator unity, attacked John Connor from behind and transformed humanity’s leader into a Terminator. The T-3000 John Connor was then sent to the past to make sure that Skynet, now disguised as the Genisys operating system, would be created. Skynet’s creation in the Genisys timeline is a paradox.

How Genisys Ties Into Dark Fate

Terminator Genisys’ box office performance was not strong enough to relaunch the Terminator franchise. As a result, none of the planned Terminator Genisys sequels happened. Four years after Genisys, Tim Miller’s Terminator: Dark Fate was released. Dark Fate chose to ignore every Terminator movie and TV show released after Terminator 2: Judgment Day, including Genisys. Instead, Dark Fate worked as a direct sequel to Terminator 2, as if none of the other movies had ever happened. James Cameron, who directed Terminator and Judgment Day, was more directly involved with Dark Fate than with previous Terminator films. Dark Fate also saw the return of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor.

Set 31 years after Judgment Day, Dark Fate revealed that John Connor was killed by a T-800 unity shortly after the events of T2. John Connor’s death in Terminator: Dark Fate confirmed that none of the Terminator movies released after Judgment Day were canon to this new sequel. Two new heroes and a new Terminator model were introduced. While the idea of revisiting Terminator 2 after so many unsuccessful sequels and reboots was interesting, Terminator: Dark Fate only grossed $261 million on an estimated budget of $185 million. Like Terminator Genisys, Dark Fate failed in reigniting the Terminator franchise. Whether there will be a Terminator 7 remains to be seen.