When Does "Terminator Genisys" (2015) Take Place?
"Terminator Genisys" is a science fiction film written by Laeta Kalogridis with Patrick Lussier, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg that released June 25th, 2015. So when is "Genisys" set?
It takes place in the years:
We know this because many of the scenes early in the main action mirror ones in "The Terminator" (1984), which takes place in May of 1984 AD. Also, we see the human resistance fighters analyze the time machine during the third prologue in 2029 AD and a screen clearly reads: "LOCATION: LOS ANGELES DATE: May 12, 1984" and when Kyle Reese asks someone, "What day is it? What year?", he responds, "May 12th, 1984." So it is May of 1984 AD in the early part of the story. Furthermore, the second shot of these scenes includes a time and place setting title card over the footage that reads "LOS ANGELES 1984 1:52 AM". The main action mostly however takes place long after 1984 AD.
1984 AD / 2017 AD
We know this because many of the scenes early in the main action mirror ones in "The Terminator" (1984), which takes place in May of 1984 AD. Also, we see the human resistance fighters analyze the time machine during the third prologue in 2029 AD and a screen clearly reads: "LOCATION: LOS ANGELES DATE: May 12, 1984" and when Kyle Reese asks someone, "What day is it? What year?", he responds, "May 12th, 1984." So it is May of 1984 AD in the early part of the story. Furthermore, the second shot of these scenes includes a time and place setting title card over the footage that reads "LOS ANGELES 1984 1:52 AM". The main action mostly however takes place long after 1984 AD.
The majority of the main action in one calendar year setting is after Reese's second trip in time. On the side of a Pepsi vending machine knocked over by two dueling Terminators is the 'smile' Pepsi logo with its distinctive wider swoop, used to promote the line of sugary drinks from June 1st, 2009 AD to August 23rd, 2023 AD. So it must be between June of 2009 AD and August of 2023 AD. More specifically, the stated goal of the second time travel journey is based on Kyle's quasi-memory/vision which includes the phrase: "Go to San Francisco, 2017" and, just before they actually begin their trip, Kyle says, "October, 2017." based on that vision. Specifically, San Francisco Detective O'Brien holds up a Microsoft Surface tablet displaying "frame grabs" depicting the first moments after the time bubble pops clearly dated for "8/28/2017" so we know it's actually August 28th, 2017 AD unless his tablet or the camera that captured these photos are malfunctioning. Furthermore, the very first shot of this portion of the tale is labeled with a title card reading: "SAN FRANCISCO 2017".
Additionally, the narrative opens with a prologue that shows the moment of Judgment Day. Reese's narration tells us what we are seeing happens when "On August 29th, 1997, Skynet woke up"... So it must be August of 1997 AD during this first prologue.
Next, there's a second prologue featuring a young Reese first meeting John Connor. It's strongly implied the boy is Reese because he later says, "The first moment I saw John, he shot a terminator right in front of me." Reese narrates, "I was born after Judgement Day. Into a broken world... ruled by the machines." so all that can be said definitively is that it is after August of 1997 AD but it is otherwise unplaceable.
Then, a third much longer prologue gives us the state of things in 2029 AD. It includes a subtitle that reads "LOS ANGELES 2029" mirroring the previous films' general setting for the Machine War though it cannot be verified without further context. A key flashback during the 2017 AD portion actually takes place here as well.
Spread throughout much of the story, Reese has very quick visions of an alternate version of his life. He specifically states of this quasi-memory/vision, "It was my 13th birthday." In the 2017 AD section, a cop reports that Kyle’s fingerprints show who he is and says, "Kyle Reese was born in 2004. He's 12." So these quasi-memories/visions must be depicting a later point in the year 2017 AD.
2,004 + 13 = 2,017.
Finally, there's a quick flashback to Sarah Connor's childhood that starts just a few moments after Sarah says to Kyle, "It was back in 1973." So we know it almost certainly takes place in 1973 AD.
The director Alan Taylor has said in an interview (epitext): "We start in 2029 during the Future War, then go back to... 1984, jumping into... 2017... But when we start the movie we’re actually pre-Judgment Day... And then Judgment Day happens. Then we cut ahead to... Post-Judgment Day. So that’s actually two more time frames, just within the prologue... Then when we time travel with Kyle he’s remembering an alternate timeline, which was his 13th birthday in the happy time-verse, which would be 2012 [actually, also 2017 AD] seen in two different ways... And... we flash back to the 1970s".
It is the fourth chronological film in the Terminator universe and can be watched at its timeline point or after all other installments in the series or after "Terminator Salvation" (2009) in a release order watch.
