A24's New Anti-Terminator Thriller Brings Back The Original Terminator Hero

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A24’s new science fiction action thriller film, arriving on September 4, 2026, is bringing back one of the original Terminator‘s most memorable heroes. The original Terminator came out over 40 years ago, and still, it’s inspiring and shaping modern science fiction storytelling.

James Cameron’s sci-fi thriller about a cybernetic assassin sent back in time to kill the mother of a future freedom fighter still holds up in both its story and its effects. The story of a mother desperate to protect her child from a power she can only pray to overcome is a story we’ve seen many times, but Terminator does more with it than almost any other film.

A24’s upcoming movie, Onslaught, will certainly try to prove it’s up to Cameron’s standards. Directed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next, Godzilla vs. Kong) and starring Adria Arjona (Andor, Hit Man) and MMA fighter Alex Pereira, Onslaught is centered on Celeste, an Army sniper living in a trailer park with her family.

When super soldiers from a nearby secret military facility descend upon the trailer park, Celeste must use all her training to defeat the threat and defend her family. There are some obvious similarities between Terminator and this story, but it looks like Onslaught will be taking a more “realistic” approach to sci-fi.

Onslaught Is A More Grounded Take On The Terminator Concept

There doesn’t appear to be any time travel shenanigans in Onslaught, and while the supersoldiers certainly look like the hulking brutes sent to the past by Skynet, they are also specifically referred to as humans, not artificial cyborgs of the Terminator franchise.

Despite a relatively more grounded concept, Onslaught appears like it will have similar themes. The arrival of these supersoldiers seems to be caused by a secret research facility losing control of their creation. Originally designed as the perfect soldier to keep the peace, the soldiers in Onslaught were made to better humanity.

It sounds like the origins of Skynet. Both the soldiers and Skynet were created to target specific humans to save others. Their programming eventually leads them to consider every human a threat. There do seem to be some other differences in the story.

In Terminator, Sarah Connor is a typical college student, caught up in an intertemporal war. Celeste, on the other hand, appears to be running away from something that occurred during her army days. It’s the arrival of the super soldiers that spurs her to action after months or years of hiding.

Michael Biehn Appearing In A Terminator-esque Movie Is A Nice Touch

Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) in a promotional image for The Terminator — Kyle Reese in a promotional image for The Terminator

There is one obvious connection to The Terminator in Onslaught which might suggest Wingard recognizes how the ’80s film influenced his movie. Michael Biehn is set to appear in the cast as a yet-unknown character. Biehn is probably best known for playing Kyle Reese in Terminator, a soldier sent back by the human resistance to help Sarah Connor.

Biehn has had some other notable performances, with parts in Aliens, Tombstone, and a memorable episode of The Walking Dead, but it’s The Terminator for which he’s best known. Whether he’ll have a similar protector role in Onslaught or if he’ll play the villain this time around will be an interesting wrinkle in the film.