Watch: 'Terminator Zero' anime explores how humanity might be saved

July 31 (UPI) -- Fans of Terminator 2: Judgment Day know that Aug. 29, 1997 was the day that artificial intelligence network Skynet gained self-awareness and decided to wipe out humanity.

Now, Netflix is releasing its new anime Terminator series on Aug. 29, and the show explores how mankind might be saved from imminent extinction.

The streaming service released a trailer for the eight-part Terminator Zero on Wednesday.

The teaser opens with an explosion and a woman's voice asking, "Malcolm, what makes you think humanity is worth saving?"

Malcolm, who is voiced by André Holland, is a scientist working in 1997 to build an artificial intelligence system, known as Kokoro, that might compete with Skynet and avoid apocalypse.

"As Malcom navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he's hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future, which forever alters the fate of his three children," an official synopsis reads.

Rosario Dawson lends her voice to Kokoro, while Timothy Olyphant portrays the Terminator and Sonoya Mizuno plays resistance fighter Eiko.

"Anyone who knows my writing knows I believe in taking big swings and going for the heart," said showrunner and writer Mattson Tomlin. "I'm honored that Netflix and Skydance have given me the opportunity to approach Terminator in a way that breaks conventions, subverts expectations, and has real guts."