The Beat spoke to Shalvey about his entry into the hit series.
DEANNA DESTITO: How does this story fit into the Terminator timeline?
Declan Shavey: The series is based on the premise of the original film. Nearly every issue occurs in the decades leading up to Judgment Day, and sometimes even the decades following Judgment Day. Our first issue begins just after the war against the machines begins.
DESTITO: What can new and old fans expect from this series?
Chalvi: A more anchored story based on the original premise. I’m not interested in time warping or destroying timelines or paradoxes or anything like that. A murder machine comes to kill you at a certain moment in each issue. Just like in the original film, the question is, how do you deal with the inevitable?
DESTITO: How was it working with Dynamite and this creative team?
Chalvi: marvelous. I’m working with Nate Cosby as editor. We have established a good working relationship in Thundercat So it’s also creatively satisfying. I’ve wanted to work with Luke Sparrow for a while Terminator provided me with the perfect opportunity to do so. His sense of storytelling, how he writes pages, his attention to detail, etc., I love seeing his pages. Colin Clark Also worked with him as a colorist. I think we have a beautiful book on our hands.
DESTITO: Will we see familiar characters?
Chalvi: Unlikely, but not impossible. I think the Connor/Reese angle has been explored a little too much, so I’m more interested in new characters and new locations. But that murder robot looks familiar!
DESTITO: Which Terminator is your favorite and why?
Chalvi: “T2” is a masterpiece to me and I think it stands up better than most movies made recently. After being given this assignment, though, I went back and rewatched the original film, removing the context of the later incarnations, and realized what a fruitful vein the core concept could have been for more stories. I now have a whole new appreciation for the original work.
DESTITO: Do you have any trailers you can share?
Chalvi: Well… there are a lot of cool stories and situations coming up, but soon enough: and then there’s the apocalypse.
