How to watch the The Terminator films in order
There are 6 The Terminator films, about 12.1 hours in total. The first was released in 1984, the latest in 2019. Watching in release order is the safest way to meet the story as audiences did.
A series of science-fiction films about the futuristic conflict between the humans led by John Connor and the Terminators that are made and controlled by Skynet, a self-aware super computer that started Armageddon and may indeed end humanity for good. Skynet's most well-known products in its genocidal goals are the various terminator models, such as the T-800 (Model 101).
- 1
The Terminator (1984)
26 Oct 1984 · 108 min
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
- 2
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
3 Jul 1991 · 137 min
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.
- 3
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
2 Jul 2003 · 109 min
It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.
- 4
Terminator Salvation (2009)
20 May 2009 · 115 min
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.
- 5
Terminator Genisys (2015)
23 Jun 2015 · 126 min
The year is 2029. John Connor, leader of the resistance continues the war against the machines. At the Los Angeles offensive, John's fears of the unknown future begin to emerge when TECOM spies reveal a new plot by SkyNet that will attack him from both fronts; past and future, and will ultimately change warfare forever.
- 6
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
23 Oct 2019 · 128 min
Decades after Sarah Connor prevented Judgment Day, a lethal new Terminator is sent to eliminate the future leader of the resistance. In a fight to save mankind, battle-hardened Sarah Connor teams up with an unexpected ally and an enhanced super soldier to stop the deadliest Terminator yet.
Order and dates from TMDB collection data. Unreleased entries are added once they get a release date.