Terminator may be an incredibly popular franchise with six movies, a TV series, and other interactive elements, but the timeline is also incredibly messy. Considering the central premise in the films deals with time travel and people in the future attempting to alter history, it makes sense that the franchise has been fragmented into various timelines. Both The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day were written and directed by James Cameron, who appeared to have a consistent vision for his films. It was after T2 that things started to get more confusing.