Within the MonsterVerse timeline, the new show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters take place shortly after the events of 2014’s Godzilla, when the public learns about the existence of the Titans. So between that, Kong: Skull Island being set in 1973 and the animated Skull Island series taking place in the ‘90s, that places Monarch as this franchise’s fourth chronological entry. In real life though, moviegoers have also been treated to Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong, and one of the producers behind Monarch shared with CinemaBlend how those two movies influence the series available for Apple TV+ subscribers to stream.
Ahead of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ two-episode premiere, I had the opportunity to speak with Tory Tunnell, who’s executive producing the series alongside her husband, Joby Harold, through their Safehouse Pictures production company. I asked Tunnell during our conversation about if either King of the Monsters or Godzilla vs. Kong, which were respectively released in 2019 and 2021, ended up influence Monarch in any notable ways, and she responded thusly:
We’re mindful of what’s coming because what’s nice about making our show is we know the future in this universe because of the features. We’re also looking back. So we have our own playground in the past, but we’re also having so much fun exploring the background of Gareth Edwards’ world. Sort of understanding what it was like being a character on the ground floor of that. And always keeping one eye on… we know what’s coming, so we’re laying the track for those things.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters takes place five years after Godzilla, and Godzilla vs. Kong picks up another five years after that. In other words, Monarch is basically a decade from what’s considered “present day” in the MonsterVerse, so the world is a long way off from threats like Ronan, Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla emerging. So on the one hand, exploring the world launched by director Gareth Edwards in 2014 is absolutely fitting since we get to see how humanity is getting used to these giant monsters living among them. At the same time though, Tunnell seemed to imply that there might be teases foreshadowing what’s to come in these other MonsterVerse movies that we’ve already seen.
Aside from the presence of Godzilla himself, one other familiar element that’s been present so far in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is Bill Randa, whom John Goodman briefly reprised at the beginning of “Aftermath” (although he had one “concern” about returning to the role), and whom Anders Holm is playing in the show’s 1950s-set storyline. Other key members of the Monarch cast include Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell (both men are playing Lee Shaw at different points in time), Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski. While we know none of their characters appear in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong, perhaps there will be opportunities for them to take part in future MonsterVerse projects after Monarch is finished.
New episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premiere Fridays on Apple TV+, but you’ll need an Max subscription to stream any of the MonsterVerse movies. Don’t forget that the franchise will pick back up when Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire comes out April 12 on the 2024 movies schedule.
