Summary
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the first live-action TV show in the MonsterVerse franchise, exploring the aftermath of Godzilla vs Kong.
- The series features a unique casting choice, with Wyatt and Kurt Russell playing the same character in different time periods, a rare occurrence.
- The show delves into the deep connection between the protagonists’ family and the Monarch organization, as they seek to understand Godzilla and the other monsters.
The next Apple TV+ series that will expand the MonsterVerse, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, stars Wyatt and Kurt Russell as the same character. And while it may seem completely logical to cast father and son in the same role, director Matt Shakman describes it as “rare.” Legendary Entertainment’s MonterVerse continues to grow, returning to the small screen. After four films and an animated series comes the franchise’s first live-action television show, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Created by Chris Black and Matt Fraction, the series takes place after the events of Godzilla vs Kong and the world discovering that monsters are real. The story focuses on two siblings who follow in their father’s footsteps and try to trace their family’s deep connection to the Monarch organization.
The series has a large cast that includes Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski, along with Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell, who play Lee Shaw in different eras. Wyatt plays the character when he first joins Monarch, while Russell plays him in the present, as a man trying to apply everything he learned there to better understand Godzilla and all the monsters.
Speaking with Collider, director Matt Shakman spoke about casting father and son in the leading role:
“Certainly, we discussed two different actors. I think that’s the usual approach to things. But we had this idea that Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell, who are often, I think, offered things as father and son, but I don’t think they’d ever been offered the same part to play in two different time periods. It just felt like, ‘what an amazing idea,’ and it’s so rare. I mean, two actors who are extraordinary on their own, two actors who bear an uncanny resemblance to each other because they’re father and son playing the same part, just felt like an idea that we had to run wholeheartedly at, and they were excited to do it.”
What’s Next for the MonsterVerse?
Earlier this year, Netflix premiered the franchise’s first official series, Skull Island, a direct animated sequel to 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Starting November 17, fans of the MonsterVerse will be able to enjoy Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which sets the stage for what is to come, the sequel to Godzilla vs Kong.
On the big screen, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will hit theaters next year, directed by Adam Wingard, who also directed the previous film. The film will find Godzilla and King Kong joining forces after having faced each other in the previous chapter of the saga, due to a terrible threat that arises from Earth, which puts their existence and that of all humanity at risk.
This new story will dive deep into the mythology of both Kong and Godzilla, and the role that humans have played in it. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire stars Dan Stevens, Rebecca Hall, Kaylee Hottle, Fala Chen, Alex Ferns, and Rachel House among others.
