Terminator Genisys is a 2015 American science fiction film directed by Alan Taylor and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier. The fifth installment in the Terminator franchise, following 2009's Terminator Salvation, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger (reprising his role as the eponymous character), Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney. The plot follows soldier Kyle Reese in the war against Skynet; Kyle is sent from the year 2029 to 1984 by John Connor, leader of the Human Resistance, to protect Connor's mother Sarah. When Kyle arrives in the past, he discovers that the timeline has been altered and Sarah has been raised by a reprogrammed Terminator.