Terminator’s Inevitable War: Exploring the Franchise’s Timeless Conflict

The Terminator franchise is one of the most groundbreaking sci-fi series in cinematic history, combining slasher elements with a time-travel narrative to create an action-packed thriller pitting man against the machines in a ruthless and unavoidable war. However, Skynet’s inevitable attack on humanity—aka “Judgment Day“—has been subject to several timeline shifts since the franchise’s inception in 1984.In the first two Terminator films, Skynet launches the world’s full nuclear arsenal on August 29th, 1997, setting in motion John Connor’s uprising against the machines. However, this date has changed numerous times, first being postponed to 2003 and then being pushed back as late as October 2017 for the ill-fated Terminator Genisys.