Terminator Movie Watching Order

This watching order is designed to give an outline of the Terminator movie franchise. It explains what order to watch the Terminator movies and looks at any connections between them. 

Jump to: Original Films – Genisys – Dark Fate

Original Continuity Watching Order

The Terminator franchise starts with the first Terminator (1984) movie. Viewers do not need to watch anything before Terminator.

The first four films in the Terminator franchise follow a pretty straightforward progression and can be viewed in a straightforward way. The series starts with Terminator (1984), continues with Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), continues again with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and continues a final time with Terminator: Salvation (2009). The heavy use of time-travel throughout these films alter the films’ internal timeline as they progress. However, watching the films in this order allows viewers to understand everything that is going on in the series.

Terminator Genisys Watching Order

The next film in the Terminator franchise is Terminator: Genisys (2015). This film effectively reboots the entire franchise. It ignores everything that happens in the first four films and instead presents an alternate version of the events of Terminator (1984).

Because of this, one could technically jump into Genisys without watching anything else first. However, we still recommend viewers watch the original Terminator movie before watching Genisys. This allows viewers to understand how Genisys is changing the original continuity. It is also helpful in allowing viewers to pick up on all of the references Genisys makes to famous moments or pieces of dialogue from Terminator.

Terminator: Dark Fate Watching Order

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) reboots the franchise again. It completely ignores the events of Terminator 3, Terminator: Salvation, and Terminator: Genisys. Instead, it positions itself as taking place shortly after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

This means that fans should watch Terminator and Terminator 2 in order before watching Dark Fate. This essentially provides everything necessary to understanding the state of the world in Dark Fate.

All Watching Orders