The Terminator movie franchise has heavily relied upon Arnold Schwarzenegger’s presence for far too long, but the larger saga finally replaced him so impressively in 2024 that the figure who stood in for the iconic T-800 deserves to be brought back for James Cameron’s return to the director’s chair. Although there is very little information about what the upcoming movie will look like, Terminator 7 must move on from Schwarzenegger’s T-800. Beyond the first two movies, Arnie’s role in the various sequels hasn’t been enough to save them.
There’s no question that Schwarzenegger has been the face of the Terminator movies since they began with the first installment in 1984. Some of Schwarzenegger’s best performances have come in the long-running sci-fi saga. However, just because he has appeared in some way in every Terminator movie doesn’t mean they’ve all been great. In fact, every effort to recapture the magic of Cameron’s first two efforts within the franchise has fallen flat pretty much every time. Hopefully, the director finds a way to move on from his loyal leading man, but he may not have to look very far.
Timothy Olyphant Played The Terminator In Netflix’s Terminator Zero
The Justified star is the Netflix’s anime primary villain
Netflix added to the Terminator franchise’s complex time travel rules and confusing layers of retcons in 2024 with the surprising decision to produce an anime show. Among the Terminator Zero cast was Timothy Olyphant, who voiced the story’s T-800 as he hunted down the main characters. Although told through a different medium, the show is part of Terminator‘s main canon. Exactly where it belongs has sparked some debate thanks to the franchise’s repeated attempts to reset the timeline to varying degrees.
Although Olyphant was voicing a T-800, it wasn’t the same model as the cybernetic character so often portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Although Olyphant was voicing a T-800, it wasn’t the same model as the cybernetic character so often portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead, Olyphant’s T-800 had a different face but was pretty much identical in every other way to the franchise’s most famous machine. Olyphant’s character doesn’t particularly look like the actor voicing him, but I suppose that makes sense given he only plays the T-800 in the English audio version of Terminator Zero. His dialogue is also fairly minimal, although it becomes more frequent as the show progresses.
Terminator Zero’s New T-800 Was As Terrifying As Schwarzenegger’s
The anime nailed the tone of the original Terminator movies
1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day adopted a slightly more lighthearted feel than the original movie, and part of this was due to the twist that Schwarzenegger’s T-800 was the good guy this time around. However, he was still a physically imposing presence and managed to fulfill his mission despite going up against a far more advanced opponent. In the first movie, he was just plain scary, as there seemed little that could have stopped him as the T-1000 that would appear in the sequel hadn’t yet made its debut.
Olyphant’s T-800 in Terminator Zero recaptures the same fearsome reputation boasted by Schwarzenegger’s character in the original movie. If anything, Zero‘s T-800 is even more terrifying due to its ability to upgrade itself with integrated weaponry. Of course, Arnie’s T-800 never really had to worry about acquiring weaponry thanks to landing in the US, whereas Olyphant’s character had to get more creative due to his mission unfolding in Japan – a country with far stricter gun laws. It’s possible the original T-800 could also have gotten creative like this, but it never really had to.
Timothy Olyphant Would Make A Fantastic Terminator In Live-Action
His T-800 probably won’t leave the anime, which is a shame
Terminator Zero is essentially an isolated project. Although it draws on the existing lore established in the movies, Netflix greenlit the show as a jumping-on point for new fans, and it will in all likelihood remain relatively standalone. So, while I don’t expect to see Timothy Olyphant reprise this Terminator role in live-action, it’s something I would love to see. I think he would do a fantastic job, and in a way that honors Schwarzenegger’s time as the face of the franchise while also adding his own flair to the performance.
Actors like Christian Bale and Emilia Clarke failed to permanently inherit the spotlight, and maybe that was because it’s the saga’s primary cybernetic character that needs replacing.
Although the Terminator movies have tried to bring new names into the saga before to try and lighten Schwarzenegger’s load, the incoming stars have pretty much always been human characters. Actors like Christian Bale and Emilia Clarke failed to permanently inherit the spotlight, and maybe that was because it’s the saga’s primary cybernetic character that needs replacing. If so, then Olyphant would be an awesome choice to step into the Terminator role that Schwarzenegger has held for so long.
