Introduction
The Terminator timeline reads like a chain of public emergencies: police reports, court dockets, classified memos, and footage pulled from traffic cameras that survive fires no one expected. Read as history rather than legend, these dates document what citizens and officials can witness—explosions in quiet neighborhoods, raids on research facilities, and the sudden appearance of individuals who do not fit any database. Across the years, patterns repeat: warnings ignored, prototypes tested, and ordinary people forced to make extraordinary decisions while the rulebook catches up.
We write in present tense to preserve the pressure of events as they unfold. Character fates and endings remain off the page. Instead, the record focuses on what institutions log: incident numbers, evacuation orders, emergency room tallies, and the steady paperwork of cause and effect. Technology here is never background; it is policy. When a breakthrough reaches the street—whether a new processor, a defense contract, or a network that promises to ‘learn’—the consequences arrive faster than the regulations.
Start in 1984 as Los Angeles records a sequence of violent encounters that defy simple explanation. By 1995, a second crisis forces agencies to reconsider what they think they know. The 2000s explore how infrastructure can be turned against the cities it serves; the late 2010s show governments and companies racing to steer machines that are already steering back. Far ahead, 2029’s war files describe a world that survives by improvisation and memory. Read in order, the documents show how small decisions in labs and boardrooms can echo across decades—and how public courage keeps history from narrowing to a single line.
When does The Terminator take place? (1984) — Timeline
Kyle Reese arrives to protect Sarah Connor as a T‑800 hunts her in Los Angeles.
Open event →When is Judgment Day in Terminator? (1995) — Timeline
A reprogrammed T‑800 defends young John Connor from the liquid‑metal T‑1000.
Open event →When does Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines take place? (2004) — Timeline
An older John faces the T‑X as Skynet’s rise becomes inevitable.
Open event →When does Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles take place? (2007) — Timeline
Sarah, John, and Cameron leap from 1999 to 2007 to fight Skynet’s early moves.
Open event →When does Terminator Genisys take place? (2017) — Timeline
A divergent timeline reimagines the 1984 events and anchors on 2017.
Open event →When does Terminator Salvation take place? (2018) — Timeline
War‑era story focused on John Connor and Marcus Wright in the ruins of 2018.
Open event →When does Terminator: Dark Fate take place? (2020) — Timeline
A new future emerges as Grace and Dani fight Legion’s Rev‑9 in 2020.
Open event →When is Judgment Day in Terminator? (2029) — Timeline
The nukes hit and the Machine War begins; the franchise’s prime apocalyptic anchor.
Open event →FAQ
Q: What is the Terminator timeline order?
A: In short: 1984 (The Terminator), 1995 (T2), 2004 (T3), 2007 (TSCC), 2017 (Genisys), 2018 (Salvation), 2020 (Dark Fate), 2029 (Judgment Day).