The past decade has been an extremely busy period for fans of Godzilla, King Kong, and the rest of the Legendary MonsterVerse, and it’s just going to get busier from here on out. In addition to the upcoming Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which will continue the story started in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, we’ll soon go back to that world with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Not long from now, anyone with an Apple TV+ subscription will get to experience the expansion of that world and its massive kaiju; but before then, there are some things you’ll probably want to know about the new show.
Below is a breakdown of everything we know about Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, including its cast, its story, and how the series plays into the larger MonsterVerse narrative. Let’s break it all down before Godzilla returns and makes a mess of things…
What Is The Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Premiere Date?
Apple TV+ has announced that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will premiere Friday, November 17, 2023, at which time the first two episodes will be made available. After that, one episode will drop every week through January 12, 2024.
Kurt Russell And Wyatt Russell Lead The Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Cast
Each of the movies in Legendary’s MonsterVerse have featured outstanding groups of actors, with the likes of Bryan Cranston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, Sally Hawkins, Ken Watanabe, and Millie Bobby Brown all showing up at one point or another. It looks like the new Apple TV+ original series will have the same quality of actors when it premieres at some point in the near future.
In Summer 2023, Apple announced that father-son duo Kurt and Wyatt Russell would be leading the cast by playing an older and younger version of Army officer Lee Shaw, respectively. The younger Russell will portray the character in the 1950s, with the Hollywood legend playing the same man decades later. But Shaw won’t be the only character played by two actors, as Apple has announced that John Goodman will be reprising his role of Bill Randa from Kong: Skull Island, with Workaholics alum Anders Holm playing the younger incarnation of the Monarch chief.
Other members of the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters cast include Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamaoto, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski.
The Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Teases A Decades-Spanning Story, A World Of Monsters, And The Return Of Godzilla
In September 2023, Apple TV+ gave the world its first proper look at the upcoming series with the first Monarch: Legacy of Monsters trailer, which accomplished a lot despite barely being over 90 seconds in length. With teased connections to not only Godzilla but also Kong: Skull Island, we’re starting to see a clearer picture of the show will tackle with what appears to be multiple timelines and narratives. Oh, and it features none other than Godzilla itself…
We don’t get to see the ferocious Kaiju in all its glory for all that long in the clip, but that’s kind of been standard procedure for all the Godzilla movies over the years. Still though, we do get some amazing shots of Godzilla raging in the water and on land, especially a tense moment with Anna Sawai’s character standing next to a bus in the rain as the sea creature makes its arrival.
Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Will Follow Two Siblings Exploring Their Family’s Connection To The Secretive Organization
The Monarch organization has been a key player throughout Legendary’s MonsterVerse. With a history that goes back nearly 80 years, the secretive group has always had some kind of connection with the events of the various movies, and the monsters featured in each. It looks like that will once again be in the case in Legacy of Monsters.
According to the official series description by Apple, the new show will follow two siblings who follow in their father's footsteps to get to the bottom of their family’s connection to the Monarch organization. One of those siblings, Cate Randa (Anna Sawai), the daughter of Bill Randa, will embark upon a globetrotting adventure to uncover the truth about Monarch.
The 10-Episode Series Will Take Place Following The Events Of 2014’s Godzilla, But Will Also Feature Flashbacks To An Earlier Era
Another thing of note is the fact that the series will take place following the events of 2014’s Godzilla, as well as decades earlier. Going back to the series synopsis mentioned above, the show will be set in the fallout of Godzilla’s battle with the Titans in San Francisco in the final act of Gareth Edwards’ epic monster movie, which is set in a world that is coming to terms with the existence of these massive beasts.
At the same time, it will also feature flashbacks of some sort to an earlier era, one that will see Thunderbolts cast member Wyatt Russell diving into the happenings of the secretive Monarch organization. How the show handles these two storylines in the narrative structure remains to be seen, but it sounds promising nonetheless.
Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Will Have Some Kind Of Connection To Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
Considering Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire are both set in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that the two properties will be connected in some way. When speaking with Collider in February 2023, WandaVision’s Matt Shakman, who directed the first two episodes, noted that there will be some overlap with Adam Wingard’s upcoming movie, saying:
There is some overlap, though we were not heavily involved in talking about it with Adam Wingard and his team. Legendary is the studio for our show, as well as for the films, and so they sort of sit at the juncture there between the two, and they have a mythology department there which is wonderful. So they weigh in on how things might overlap, how certain creatures need to stay on one side or the other, and so there is a lot of conversation about it. But in terms of how closely the narratives overlap, it's not as involved to say, an MCU kind of Disney+ film crossover. It's less organized.
Shakman’s comments make it sound like the two will have some loose connections, but it should also be noted that we probably won’t see a continuation of the story like WandaVision to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Avengers: Endgame to Loki.
Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Will Feature Titans, Both Old And New
All of MonsterVerse movies feature not only their namesake beasts but also an assortment of other titans that give Godzilla and King Kong a whole lot of trouble along the way. And it appears that will again be the case for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. When speaking with ComicBook.com in February 2023, Matt Shakman was asked if there were any specific monsters he was excited to work with, to which he responded:
Well, Godzilla first and foremost, you know, I still have my old Toho Godzilla toy with the arm that shoots off, the little tongue that comes out when you press the back of its head, from when I was a kid. I used to watch those movies with my dad and I absolutely love them. And so just the chance to film scenes where there are hundreds of people running down the street trying to escape from Godzilla. I mean, that's definitely got to check that off the bucket list. That's pretty awesome. So it was fun and, and you know, we were creating a lot of cool titans and monsters, some new, some old. So it's fun. I'm excited.
When Shakman made these comments earlier in 2023, the only kaiju confirmed for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters at the time was Godzilla. However, with the release of the first trailer in September, we were given brief glimpses of some of those terrifying creatures, massive beasts will surely be seeing more of when the show premieres in November.
It seems like Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is going to be a show that will be right in step with the other movies and series in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. This, combined with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Toho’s Godzilla Minus One, which is slated to make landfall near the end of the 2023 movie schedule, means the future is very bright for fans of the iconic kaiju.
