Terminator

The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction by a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future. Michael Biehn plays Kyle Reese, a soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day was released in the United States on July 3, 1991 by TriStar Pictures. It was a critical success upon release, with praise for the acting, action scenes, and visual effects.

Other films followed: two sequels, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in 2003 and Terminator Salvation in 2009; a reboot, Terminator Genisys in 2015; and the Cameron-produced film Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019 which was intended to be an alternate sequel and retcon from Rise of the Machines onward. A sequel television series, Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, ran from 2008 to 2009.