The Terminator: watch order

The movies in the series, sorted by release date. Total runtime: 12 h 3 min. 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. 
   Movie 1

   The Terminator (1984)

   1 h 48 min · ★ 7.7

   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…

2. 
   Movie 2

   Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

   2 h 17 min · ★ 8.2

   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…

3. 
   Movie 3

   Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

   1 h 49 min · ★ 6.2

   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…

4. 
   Movie 4

   Terminator Salvation (2009)

   1 h 55 min · ★ 6.1

   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…

5. 
   Movie 5

   Terminator Genisys (2015)

   2 h 6 min · ★ 6.0

   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…

6. 
   Movie 6

   Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

   2 h 8 min · ★ 6.4

   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…