Wyatt Russell has not been shy when talking about his great experience working with his father, legendary actor Kurt Russell, on the Apple TV+ drama “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.” But one question he’s frequently asked doesn’t have a satisfying answer.
“Normally, I’m asked, ‘What did you learn from your dad?’ And the answer to that is, ‘nothing,’ because I grew up with him,” Wyatt tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview. But ask Wyatt what insights he gleaned from working with Kurt on the show to build the character Lee Shaw – the army veteran at the center of a decades-spanning mystery within the MonsterVerse franchise universe – and that’s a different story.
SEEour video interview with Kurt Russell (‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’)
“Insight is different. Insights I could take away from were how he can adapt to a situation very well. I hadn’t experienced it before,...
“Normally, I’m asked, ‘What did you learn from your dad?’ And the answer to that is, ‘nothing,’ because I grew up with him,” Wyatt tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview. But ask Wyatt what insights he gleaned from working with Kurt on the show to build the character Lee Shaw – the army veteran at the center of a decades-spanning mystery within the MonsterVerse franchise universe – and that’s a different story.
SEEour video interview with Kurt Russell (‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’)
“Insight is different. Insights I could take away from were how he can adapt to a situation very well. I hadn’t experienced it before,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
This piece contains spoilers about “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”
Even now, months after she wrapped production on Season 1 of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” breakout star Mari Yamamoto gets admittedly emotional while talking about the show’s finale.
The actress plays Keiko Mura, a Japanese scientist who, in the 1950s, helped start the organization Monarch alongside Bill Randa (Anders Holm) and Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) to understand and study Godzilla and other Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms (MUTOs). But after a mission gone wrong, Keiko is presumed dead and is only later discovered to have survived, barely aged for decades, within a part of Hollow Earth she’s coined Axis Mundi. It’s there, in the show’s finale, where Keiko reunites with an elder Lee and realizes that her 57 days spent in Axis Mundi have translated to literal decades on Earth.
See‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ reviews: ‘Riveting’ series features ‘impressive’ VFX,...
Even now, months after she wrapped production on Season 1 of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” breakout star Mari Yamamoto gets admittedly emotional while talking about the show’s finale.
The actress plays Keiko Mura, a Japanese scientist who, in the 1950s, helped start the organization Monarch alongside Bill Randa (Anders Holm) and Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) to understand and study Godzilla and other Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms (MUTOs). But after a mission gone wrong, Keiko is presumed dead and is only later discovered to have survived, barely aged for decades, within a part of Hollow Earth she’s coined Axis Mundi. It’s there, in the show’s finale, where Keiko reunites with an elder Lee and realizes that her 57 days spent in Axis Mundi have translated to literal decades on Earth.
See‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ reviews: ‘Riveting’ series features ‘impressive’ VFX,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Apple TV+ is supersizing its already titanic Monsterverse.
The streamer announced on Thursday that it has renewed Monarch: Legacy of Monsters for a second season; the news comes three months after the Season 1 finale dropped on Jan. 12.
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What’s more, Apple TV+’s new deal with Legendary Entertainment includes multiple spinoff series based on the Monsterverse franchise.
Set in...
The streamer announced on Thursday that it has renewed Monarch: Legacy of Monsters for a second season; the news comes three months after the Season 1 finale dropped on Jan. 12.
More from TVLineWhat’s New on Netflix in April — Plus: Disney+, Hulu, Amazon and OthersApple Sets Dates for Jake Gyllenhaal’s <em>Presumed Innocent</em> Remake, Michael Douglas’ <em>Franklin</em> and 11 Others (Watch)S.W.A.T. Cheats Death Again! CBS Reverses Cancellation, Renews Procedural for Season 8
What’s more, Apple TV+’s new deal with Legendary Entertainment includes multiple spinoff series based on the Monsterverse franchise.
Set in...
- 4/11/2024
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
This article contains mild spoilers for "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire."
Earth, the planet we all live on and must share with each other, is an amazing place full of wonders. Even now in 2024, it's wild to realize that humanity has yet to explore every inch of the planet, with a staggering percentage of the Earth's oceans having only been mapped by satellites. Although it feels like we've reached an age where there's little mystery left in the terrestrial, there still exists so much possibility on our planet before we even begin to consider other planets or galaxies beyond.
Although the theory of a hollow Earth in real life holds about as much veracity as a flat Earth, the concept has become a delightful metaphor in the MonsterVerse series of films for the exploration of new realms, continuing a tradition from classic monster movies like the original "King Kong" of adventure and discovery.
Earth, the planet we all live on and must share with each other, is an amazing place full of wonders. Even now in 2024, it's wild to realize that humanity has yet to explore every inch of the planet, with a staggering percentage of the Earth's oceans having only been mapped by satellites. Although it feels like we've reached an age where there's little mystery left in the terrestrial, there still exists so much possibility on our planet before we even begin to consider other planets or galaxies beyond.
Although the theory of a hollow Earth in real life holds about as much veracity as a flat Earth, the concept has become a delightful metaphor in the MonsterVerse series of films for the exploration of new realms, continuing a tradition from classic monster movies like the original "King Kong" of adventure and discovery.
- 3/31/2024
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
After making a successful small screen debut with Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters earlier this year, Legendary’s Monsterverse is returning this week with their fifth cinematic entry, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. With major comic-book movie franchises gradually losing their steam during the last couple of years, now is as good a time as any for the Americanized Kaiju cinematic universe to seize the market. Also, capitalizing on the recent VFX Oscar win of Godzilla Minus One, the upcoming Kaiju flick has the potential to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year.
It has been a decade since Gareth Edward’s much-acclaimed Godzilla (2014) paved the foundation of the Monsterverse and reignited the fanfare for the atomic lizard. Although during this period only a scant four movies have hit theaters, the in-universe mythology of the Titans (the American counterpart of Kaijus) has sprawled into a behemoth in its own right.
It has been a decade since Gareth Edward’s much-acclaimed Godzilla (2014) paved the foundation of the Monsterverse and reignited the fanfare for the atomic lizard. Although during this period only a scant four movies have hit theaters, the in-universe mythology of the Titans (the American counterpart of Kaijus) has sprawled into a behemoth in its own right.
- 3/27/2024
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
This article contains spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 1.
The history of the MonsterVerse stands revealed in the Apple TV+ original series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Set in the aftermath of Godzilla’s cataclysmic emergence in San Francisco, as chronicled in 2014’s Godzilla, a young woman named Cate Randa (Anna Sawai) travels to Japan after her father’s apparent death only to learn her family is part of a global conspiracy involving Titans like Godzilla. Teaming up with Kentaro Randa (Ren Watanabe), the half-brother she never knew she had, Cate travels the world with her father’s old associate Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell in flashback) to learn more about Monarch, the clandestine organization overseen by her adoptive grandfather Bill Randa (Anders Holm).
Here is how the first season finale of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters leaves its characters, what earth-shattering revelations are made, which characters don’t...
The history of the MonsterVerse stands revealed in the Apple TV+ original series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Set in the aftermath of Godzilla’s cataclysmic emergence in San Francisco, as chronicled in 2014’s Godzilla, a young woman named Cate Randa (Anna Sawai) travels to Japan after her father’s apparent death only to learn her family is part of a global conspiracy involving Titans like Godzilla. Teaming up with Kentaro Randa (Ren Watanabe), the half-brother she never knew she had, Cate travels the world with her father’s old associate Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell in flashback) to learn more about Monarch, the clandestine organization overseen by her adoptive grandfather Bill Randa (Anders Holm).
Here is how the first season finale of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters leaves its characters, what earth-shattering revelations are made, which characters don’t...
- 1/12/2024
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
This post contains spoilers for "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" season 1.
"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" wrapped up its first season this week with a surprisingly satisfying finale that wove together disparate threads the show has been untangling all season. The sci-fi series' overlong debut season still managed to keep plenty of viewers intrigued with a myriad of monsters, an endless stream of mysteries, and two Russells for the price of one, but its final two episodes are the best "Monarch" has been yet.
There's no bloat in the season's big payoff episode, which sees Lee Shaw and his team of assorted and sundry amateur sleuths enter the Titan realm (Aka the Hollow Earth) after an attempt to seal it off went wrong. Along the way, they finally figure out what happened to Shaw's friend and colleague Kei (Mari Yamamoto) all those years ago. Part emotional reunion, part thrilling, monster-filled adventure, the...
"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" wrapped up its first season this week with a surprisingly satisfying finale that wove together disparate threads the show has been untangling all season. The sci-fi series' overlong debut season still managed to keep plenty of viewers intrigued with a myriad of monsters, an endless stream of mysteries, and two Russells for the price of one, but its final two episodes are the best "Monarch" has been yet.
There's no bloat in the season's big payoff episode, which sees Lee Shaw and his team of assorted and sundry amateur sleuths enter the Titan realm (Aka the Hollow Earth) after an attempt to seal it off went wrong. Along the way, they finally figure out what happened to Shaw's friend and colleague Kei (Mari Yamamoto) all those years ago. Part emotional reunion, part thrilling, monster-filled adventure, the...
- 1/12/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Gareth Edwards’ visionary masterpiece, Godzilla, reinvented the saga of the iconic monster for a Western audience and acted as the foundation of Legendary Studios’ Monsterverse, a tribute to Toho’s classic Daikaiju epics. At the center of the franchise’s Titan-human correlation, the organization ‘Monarch’ was introduced, which initially served the purpose of introducing, researching, and explaining the Titan-related affairs to characters in-universe and, in the process, to the audience as well. However, soon enough, the narrative choice throughout the following stories made Monarch kind of redundant, with its usefulness being limited to only serving as an exposition device. This aspect gradually became so ludicrous that the characters in the movies acknowledged the fact through meta-jokes.
The recently ended Monsterverse series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters changed the equation by tracing back to the origin of the organization, linking it with a post-World War II geopolitical scenario, and doubling down on...
The recently ended Monsterverse series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters changed the equation by tracing back to the origin of the organization, linking it with a post-World War II geopolitical scenario, and doubling down on...
- 1/12/2024
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
Kiersey Clemons and Anna Sawai in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 10 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 10, the season finale, picks up just seconds after the end of episode nine. Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) has just saved Cate (Anna Sawai) from being attacked by a Titan, and it’s obvious Cate’s more shocked about seeing her grandmother than she is about almost being eaten.
Cate’s upset that May’s not with her and doesn’t respond when Keiko asks if she came with Bill Randa or Lee Shaw. Keiko has no idea that time has passed or that she’s talking to her granddaughter.
Keiko reveals she set up a beacon and thinks that her rescue signal is what brought Cate into this world that she’s named Axis Mundi (the pole between Heaven and Earth). Cate knows nothing about the signal, and...
Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 10, the season finale, picks up just seconds after the end of episode nine. Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) has just saved Cate (Anna Sawai) from being attacked by a Titan, and it’s obvious Cate’s more shocked about seeing her grandmother than she is about almost being eaten.
Cate’s upset that May’s not with her and doesn’t respond when Keiko asks if she came with Bill Randa or Lee Shaw. Keiko has no idea that time has passed or that she’s talking to her granddaughter.
Keiko reveals she set up a beacon and thinks that her rescue signal is what brought Cate into this world that she’s named Axis Mundi (the pole between Heaven and Earth). Cate knows nothing about the signal, and...
- 1/12/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Will Apple TV+’s monster mash continue?
The first, 10-episode season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (aka “the Godzilla series”) comes to a close this Friday, with the release of a rather epic finale. (You’ll cry, you’ll be on the edge of your seat, you’ll cheer.)
More from TVLineCriminal Record's Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo Tease a Polarizing Dynamic in Apple TV+ Crime DramaMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Finally Solved That Lee Shaw Mystery - and Then Set the Stage for a Wild FinaleTVLine Items: Killers of the Flower Moon Hits Apple, Modern Family Vet Visits Elsbeth and More
Official Season 2 renewal news,...
The first, 10-episode season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (aka “the Godzilla series”) comes to a close this Friday, with the release of a rather epic finale. (You’ll cry, you’ll be on the edge of your seat, you’ll cheer.)
More from TVLineCriminal Record's Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo Tease a Polarizing Dynamic in Apple TV+ Crime DramaMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Finally Solved That Lee Shaw Mystery - and Then Set the Stage for a Wild FinaleTVLine Items: Killers of the Flower Moon Hits Apple, Modern Family Vet Visits Elsbeth and More
Official Season 2 renewal news,...
- 1/10/2024
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
The following recap, by the very definition of the word recap, contains spoilers from Episode 9 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, now streaming on Apple TV+.
We now know why Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ Colonel Lee Shaw looks pretty spry for a 90something guy.
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We now know why Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ Colonel Lee Shaw looks pretty spry for a 90something guy.
More from TVLineThe Golden Bachelor Is the Most Pure and Wholesome Thing The Bachelor Has Ever Done, and The Golden Wedding Proved ItTVLine Items: Killers of the Flower Moon Hits Apple, Modern Family Vet Visits Elsbeth and MoreThe Brothers Sun's Michelle Yeoh & Co. Are a Lethal Force to Be Reckoned With in Netflix Premiere - Grade It!
- 1/5/2024
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Wyatt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 9 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode eight ended with a gut-wrenching cliffhanger that saw Cate, May, and Lee tumbling through a rift. Episode nine, the season’s penultimate, keeps us hanging about their fate and instead opens with a flashback to a Monarch test site in Kansas, 1962, and a young Hiroshi being babysat by Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) and Bill Randa (Anders Holm).
Scratch that…it’s actually Bill who’s pulled babysitting duty for the day as Lee is about to make history by traveling into a rift via a specially constructed ship. Before leaving, Lee loans Hiroshi his pocketknife to hold onto until he returns.
Bill and Lee have grown close to Hiroshi, and Lee compliments Bill on the job he’s doing raising the boy. Lee thinks Keiko would be proud.
General Puckett...
Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode eight ended with a gut-wrenching cliffhanger that saw Cate, May, and Lee tumbling through a rift. Episode nine, the season’s penultimate, keeps us hanging about their fate and instead opens with a flashback to a Monarch test site in Kansas, 1962, and a young Hiroshi being babysat by Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) and Bill Randa (Anders Holm).
Scratch that…it’s actually Bill who’s pulled babysitting duty for the day as Lee is about to make history by traveling into a rift via a specially constructed ship. Before leaving, Lee loans Hiroshi his pocketknife to hold onto until he returns.
Bill and Lee have grown close to Hiroshi, and Lee compliments Bill on the job he’s doing raising the boy. Lee thinks Keiko would be proud.
General Puckett...
- 1/5/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Is Monarch: Legacy of Monsters About to Go There? A Brief History of the Monsterverse’s Hollow Earth
The following contains spoilers from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 8, now streaming on Apple TV+.
With its antepenultimate Season 1 episode, Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brushed up against a major piece of Monsterverse movie mythology, as in the Hollow Earth theory — and may have even sent a few heroes down to that topsy-turvy realm!
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 7: That Dramatic Logo Reveal, ExplainedThe Buccaneers Renewed for Season 2How Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Is Able to Unleash 'Thicc Boi' Godzilla on a TV-Sized Budget
Episode 8 (of 10), titled “Birthright,” revealed to Cate that Colonel Lee Shaw,...
With its antepenultimate Season 1 episode, Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brushed up against a major piece of Monsterverse movie mythology, as in the Hollow Earth theory — and may have even sent a few heroes down to that topsy-turvy realm!
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 7: That Dramatic Logo Reveal, ExplainedThe Buccaneers Renewed for Season 2How Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Is Able to Unleash 'Thicc Boi' Godzilla on a TV-Sized Budget
Episode 8 (of 10), titled “Birthright,” revealed to Cate that Colonel Lee Shaw,...
- 1/1/2024
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters."
While "Monarch" may have started off a bit slow by leaning hard on its mystery-box storytelling in the early going (as /Film's Chris Evangelista pointed out in his review here), the smoke is finally starting to clear and the show's overall goal is rounding into shape — along with a heavy dose of even more Monster-Verse connections. Last week's episode "Will the Real May Please Stand Up?" featured a major Easter egg referencing the future events of "Godzilla vs Kong," but ended on a cliffhanger that didn't clarify exactly what the present-day Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) is up to with his renegade force of former Monarch operatives. Those questions have now been answered emphatically as of episode 8 and, in the process, we've been given a roadmap to one of the wildest twists incorporated in the movies.
This week's adventure,...
While "Monarch" may have started off a bit slow by leaning hard on its mystery-box storytelling in the early going (as /Film's Chris Evangelista pointed out in his review here), the smoke is finally starting to clear and the show's overall goal is rounding into shape — along with a heavy dose of even more Monster-Verse connections. Last week's episode "Will the Real May Please Stand Up?" featured a major Easter egg referencing the future events of "Godzilla vs Kong," but ended on a cliffhanger that didn't clarify exactly what the present-day Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) is up to with his renegade force of former Monarch operatives. Those questions have now been answered emphatically as of episode 8 and, in the process, we've been given a roadmap to one of the wildest twists incorporated in the movies.
This week's adventure,...
- 12/29/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Wyatt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 8 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
After a brief visit back in time to a discussion between Bill Randa (Anders Holm) and Keiko Miura (Mari Yamamoto), Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode eight catches up with Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) and Duvall (Elisa Lasowski) in 2015 as they head to a target in Kazakhstan.
But don’t get comfortable in the more modern era, as the first half of this episode recap is going to concentrate on the events of 1955.
Lee (Wyatt Russell), Keiko, and Bill meet with Lt. Hatch in Washington DC. He’s unimpressed with their latest work on gamma rays and thinks they’re wasting money on a ridiculous project. If a Godzilla-type monster shows its face, the U.S. will take care of him with a nuke. Hatch wonders why, after two years of throwing money into Monarch, there...
After a brief visit back in time to a discussion between Bill Randa (Anders Holm) and Keiko Miura (Mari Yamamoto), Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode eight catches up with Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) and Duvall (Elisa Lasowski) in 2015 as they head to a target in Kazakhstan.
But don’t get comfortable in the more modern era, as the first half of this episode recap is going to concentrate on the events of 1955.
Lee (Wyatt Russell), Keiko, and Bill meet with Lt. Hatch in Washington DC. He’s unimpressed with their latest work on gamma rays and thinks they’re wasting money on a ridiculous project. If a Godzilla-type monster shows its face, the U.S. will take care of him with a nuke. Hatch wonders why, after two years of throwing money into Monarch, there...
- 12/29/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Things are getting bigger, badder, and more bonkers on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as Cate (Anna Sawai), step-brother Kentaro (Ren Watabe) close in on their missing father’s whereabouts. At the same time, their enigmatic pal May (Kiersey Clemons) is forced to face her past — and the truth about why she was in Tokyo in the first place — while Shaw (Kurt Russell) is making an alliance with Monarch operative Duvall (Elisa Lasowski), despite the fact that the Titan-investigating company locked away for ages in a “retirement” community after he uncovered their shady ways. As fans of Apple TV+‘s tremendously entertaining and surprisingly emotional action thriller know, there have been Easter Eggs and ties to the cinematic Monsterverse a’plenty. And the effects have been nothing short of spectacular. Tbh, Godzilla has never looked better! During a recent chat with Sawai, Watabe, Clemons, Lasowski, Anders Holm — whose 1950s Titan-chaser Bill Randa...
- 12/27/2023
- TV Insider
[This story contains spoilers from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode six, “Terrifying Miracles.”]
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Wyatt Russell has had several opportunities to work alongside his father Kurt over the years, but the younger Russell insisted on establishing himself on his own first.
On the Chris Black- and Matt Fraction-created Monarch, the father-and-son duo share the role of Lee Shaw, a U.S. Army colonel and onetime Monarch agent who’s been tracking the emergence of MonsterVerse Titans since the early 1950s. The two Russells put a great deal of thought into their portrayals in order to ensure that Kurt’s version of Lee in 2015 felt like a logical extension of Wyatt’s character from the ‘50s.
Ultimately, the 37-year-old Russell is glad he waited as long as he did to collaborate with his father.
“[Starting out,] I just wanted to do something that was my own. I’ve now been doing this for 15 years,...
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Wyatt Russell has had several opportunities to work alongside his father Kurt over the years, but the younger Russell insisted on establishing himself on his own first.
On the Chris Black- and Matt Fraction-created Monarch, the father-and-son duo share the role of Lee Shaw, a U.S. Army colonel and onetime Monarch agent who’s been tracking the emergence of MonsterVerse Titans since the early 1950s. The two Russells put a great deal of thought into their portrayals in order to ensure that Kurt’s version of Lee in 2015 felt like a logical extension of Wyatt’s character from the ‘50s.
Ultimately, the 37-year-old Russell is glad he waited as long as he did to collaborate with his father.
“[Starting out,] I just wanted to do something that was my own. I’ve now been doing this for 15 years,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As an interconnected franchise, Legendary’s MonsterVerse is going to complete a decade in the pop culture landscape by next year, with a humble collection of five movies and two series, and the major connecting thread in its world-building, obviously aside from the primeval Titans, is the organization ‘Monarch’ itself. Despite being the central overseer of all Titan-related affairs, the role of the organization was largely undermined, and without a definitive direction, it was reduced to a generic plot device. Things took a better turn after Monarch: Legacy of Monsters added a strong foundation to the origin and gradual transformation of the titular organization, rooted in the human-monster relationship, which acts as a brilliant contemporary political commentary at the same time.
So far, through the course of six episodes, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has established a number of in-universe links and acknowledged its indebtedness to the existing Kaiju lore of...
So far, through the course of six episodes, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has established a number of in-universe links and acknowledged its indebtedness to the existing Kaiju lore of...
- 12/19/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
VFX supervisor Sean Konrad was tasked with bringing to life some iconic titans back for Apple TV+’s ten-part series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.” Among them are “Kong: Skull Island’s” Mother Longlegs and Godzilla, as well as some new monsters, including a crab-inspired titan and star-mole beast.
Showrunner and co-creator Chris Black had always wanted to open the series on Skull Island to root the viewer in familiarity without having to rewatch past films. The opening episode sees Bill Randa (John Goodman) being chased through a bamboo forest that opens out onto a rock peninsula before Mother Longlegs emerges. Moments later, a giant rock crab creature known as Mantleclaw comes out of the ground, and a battle between the two monsters begins. For Black and Konrad, it was a way of paying homage to the MonsterVerse lore and allowed them to draw from the Hawaiian location.
As for design,...
Showrunner and co-creator Chris Black had always wanted to open the series on Skull Island to root the viewer in familiarity without having to rewatch past films. The opening episode sees Bill Randa (John Goodman) being chased through a bamboo forest that opens out onto a rock peninsula before Mother Longlegs emerges. Moments later, a giant rock crab creature known as Mantleclaw comes out of the ground, and a battle between the two monsters begins. For Black and Konrad, it was a way of paying homage to the MonsterVerse lore and allowed them to draw from the Hawaiian location.
As for design,...
- 12/18/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Admixing professional and personal life might result in disastrous consequences, and in the sixth episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, it is most apparent from the mistakes of the titular organization’s former chief, Lieutenant Lee Shaw. After steering clear of the past timeline for two consecutive episodes, “Monarch” turns back the clock to pinpoint the one event that changed the course of the human-titan correlation.
In the previous episode, after getting released from Monarch’s Alaska outpost, Cate suggests May and Kentaro head to her home, San Francisco, which was nearly destroyed during the battle between Godzilla and M.U.T.O., to possibly learn about Hiroshi’s whereabouts. After revisiting her traumatic past by venturing inside the dilapidated area of the city, Cate learns about her father’s presumed waypoint towards Africa with the help of May and Kentaro and reconciles with her mother, Caroline. May, on the other hand,...
In the previous episode, after getting released from Monarch’s Alaska outpost, Cate suggests May and Kentaro head to her home, San Francisco, which was nearly destroyed during the battle between Godzilla and M.U.T.O., to possibly learn about Hiroshi’s whereabouts. After revisiting her traumatic past by venturing inside the dilapidated area of the city, Cate learns about her father’s presumed waypoint towards Africa with the help of May and Kentaro and reconciles with her mother, Caroline. May, on the other hand,...
- 12/15/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
Mari Yamamoto and Wyatt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 6 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Apple TV+’s first season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters continues with episode six, which, unlike episode five, revisits the past and brings Keiko, Bill, and a younger Lee Shaw back into the story. And after an episode that was devoid of monsters – except for a brief glimpse at Godzilla – episode six serves up new scenes with the gigantic monster.
Washington D.C. – The Summer of 1955
Dressed to the nine, Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) escorts Dr. Keiko Miura (Mari Yamamoto) to the American Defense Industry Federal Summer Ball. Their goal: convince the powers that be to continue funding Monarch.
Lee’s been promoted to captain, and General Puckett (Christopher Heyerdahl) heaps praise on a man he seems to now consider his protégé. The other officers are eager to hear about Monarch but less eager to speak with Keiko.
Apple TV+’s first season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters continues with episode six, which, unlike episode five, revisits the past and brings Keiko, Bill, and a younger Lee Shaw back into the story. And after an episode that was devoid of monsters – except for a brief glimpse at Godzilla – episode six serves up new scenes with the gigantic monster.
Washington D.C. – The Summer of 1955
Dressed to the nine, Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) escorts Dr. Keiko Miura (Mari Yamamoto) to the American Defense Industry Federal Summer Ball. Their goal: convince the powers that be to continue funding Monarch.
Lee’s been promoted to captain, and General Puckett (Christopher Heyerdahl) heaps praise on a man he seems to now consider his protégé. The other officers are eager to hear about Monarch but less eager to speak with Keiko.
- 12/15/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
[This story contains spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ fifth episode, “The Way Out.”]
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Anna Sawai has top billing on Apple TV+’s MonsterVerse spinoff series that also includes Kurt and Wyatt Russell. Her starring role is bookended by lead roles on the streamer’s critically acclaimed drama series, Pachinko, and FX/Hulu’s highly anticipated miniseries, Shōgun. Oddly enough, despite Shōgun’s February 2024 release date, Sawai shot Shōgun in Vancouver before Monarch’s own Vancouver shoot, and within 24 hours of wrapping Shōgun, she was already recreating Godzilla’s Golden Gate Bridge sequence from Gareth Edwards’ MonsterVerse starter, Godzilla (2014).
Sawai plays a San Francisco-based teacher named Cate Randa, who’s the granddaughter of John Goodman’s Kong: Skull Island character, Bill Randa. (Outside of Goodman’s flashback in the premiere, Anders Holm plays young Bill on the series.) And with Monarch taking a Rashomon-type approach to Edwards’ 2014 film, Cate and her students ended up being on...
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Anna Sawai has top billing on Apple TV+’s MonsterVerse spinoff series that also includes Kurt and Wyatt Russell. Her starring role is bookended by lead roles on the streamer’s critically acclaimed drama series, Pachinko, and FX/Hulu’s highly anticipated miniseries, Shōgun. Oddly enough, despite Shōgun’s February 2024 release date, Sawai shot Shōgun in Vancouver before Monarch’s own Vancouver shoot, and within 24 hours of wrapping Shōgun, she was already recreating Godzilla’s Golden Gate Bridge sequence from Gareth Edwards’ MonsterVerse starter, Godzilla (2014).
Sawai plays a San Francisco-based teacher named Cate Randa, who’s the granddaughter of John Goodman’s Kong: Skull Island character, Bill Randa. (Outside of Goodman’s flashback in the premiere, Anders Holm plays young Bill on the series.) And with Monarch taking a Rashomon-type approach to Edwards’ 2014 film, Cate and her students ended up being on...
- 12/13/2023
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The globetrotting adventures of the Randa kids bring the team back to base, as after Kentaro, it is Cate’s turn for some self-reflection and emotional unpacking before setting off to new frontiers in search of Hiroshi Randa. In the previous episode of Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters, as the team tried to evade Snow Vark, the frost Titan in Alaska, May accidentally fell into an ice puddle and faced the risk of getting affected by hypothermia. Kentaro got separated from the group while trying to search for help, as he decided to follow his gut feelings and venture alone. On the other hand, Monarch learned about probable Titan activity in Alaska after pulsar-level radioactive readings were registered.
Kentaro’s solo journey into the unknown turned out to be a quest of self-exploration by confronting his past, which ended with him discovering an abandoned research facility, where he finds proof of...
Kentaro’s solo journey into the unknown turned out to be a quest of self-exploration by confronting his past, which ended with him discovering an abandoned research facility, where he finds proof of...
- 12/8/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
This post contains spoilers for "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" episode 4, "Parallels and Interiors."
The Monsterverse is coming up on a decade now, dating back to director Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla" in 2014. But in all of those years, the human characters in the franchise have often left much to be desired. Fortunately, the Monsterverse has finally figured out this piece of the puzzle. The key? Kurt Russell. "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" is currently in the midst of its first season on Apple TV+ and Russell's character Lee Shaw is easily the best human character we've had against the backdrop of this world of monsters.
In nine years of the Monsterverse, we've had some extremely memorable monster action, including one heck of a showdown between Godzilla and King Kong in 2021's aptly named "Godzilla vs. Kong." The humans? That's a different story. Oftentimes, these characters feel like vehicles that are just driving us toward the next monster showdown.
The Monsterverse is coming up on a decade now, dating back to director Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla" in 2014. But in all of those years, the human characters in the franchise have often left much to be desired. Fortunately, the Monsterverse has finally figured out this piece of the puzzle. The key? Kurt Russell. "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" is currently in the midst of its first season on Apple TV+ and Russell's character Lee Shaw is easily the best human character we've had against the backdrop of this world of monsters.
In nine years of the Monsterverse, we've had some extremely memorable monster action, including one heck of a showdown between Godzilla and King Kong in 2021's aptly named "Godzilla vs. Kong." The humans? That's a different story. Oftentimes, these characters feel like vehicles that are just driving us toward the next monster showdown.
- 12/1/2023
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
With each episode, the Monsterverse series Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters seems to excel in diversifying its narrative tone and structure, which adds on new layers to the central mystery in the process. While the first two episodes focused more on the buildup and integration of the Titans into the world, the third one delineated a critique of human impact on nature, and the fourth one simultaneously took an introspective look into the psyche of one of the main leads of the series and added a new spin by turning the episode into a survival thriller. The series format provides a chance for layered storytelling, and the way Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters capitalizes on that is something other Monsterverse ventures are going to have a tough time matching up to.
In the previous episode, in search of their father Hiroshi Randa, Cate and Kentaro agreed to help Lee Shaw (a friend...
In the previous episode, in search of their father Hiroshi Randa, Cate and Kentaro agreed to help Lee Shaw (a friend...
- 12/1/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" is the best kind of TV show belonging to a cinematic universe. It works as a fantastic series in its own right, one with a compelling mystery box, cool and memorable characters you genuinely want to follow even when the monsters aren't around, and visuals that match the main movies.
Perhaps most importantly as part of a cinematic universe, "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" ties into the larger MonsterVerse without making either the series or the movies feel like chores. Watching the show enriches the movies and vice versa, but one is not necessary to watch the other.
The show takes place on two timelines. It tells us the origins of the mysterious organization Monarch, and it's also a story of a woman and her newfound half-brother in the aftermath of Godzilla's first reappearance trying to piece together how their father is involved with the organization.
Perhaps most importantly as part of a cinematic universe, "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" ties into the larger MonsterVerse without making either the series or the movies feel like chores. Watching the show enriches the movies and vice versa, but one is not necessary to watch the other.
The show takes place on two timelines. It tells us the origins of the mysterious organization Monarch, and it's also a story of a woman and her newfound half-brother in the aftermath of Godzilla's first reappearance trying to piece together how their father is involved with the organization.
- 11/24/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Kurt Russell, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe and Anna Sawai in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 3 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode three picks up seconds after the end of episode two, with the elderly Lee Shaw warning Cate (Anna Sawai), May (Kiersey Clemons), and Kentaro (Ren Watabe) they have one minute to decide if they’re going to break him out of the “retirement” community. Kentaro and Cate are desperate to know what happened to their dad, and Lee’s their only hope.
The foursome make a run for the van, and Lee’s totally confused when the van doesn’t need a key to start. Still, he’s the designated driver since he’s got experience fighting his way out of trouble.
Lee rams the front gates and Kentaro realizes he’ll never get his rental car deposit back.
And after just a few minutes with Kurt Russell,...
Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode three picks up seconds after the end of episode two, with the elderly Lee Shaw warning Cate (Anna Sawai), May (Kiersey Clemons), and Kentaro (Ren Watabe) they have one minute to decide if they’re going to break him out of the “retirement” community. Kentaro and Cate are desperate to know what happened to their dad, and Lee’s their only hope.
The foursome make a run for the van, and Lee’s totally confused when the van doesn’t need a key to start. Still, he’s the designated driver since he’s got experience fighting his way out of trouble.
Lee rams the front gates and Kentaro realizes he’ll never get his rental car deposit back.
And after just a few minutes with Kurt Russell,...
- 11/24/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
The human mind is an unpredictable and dangerous thing, as so often the curiosity borne out of a desire to explore something unknown turns into a destructive, egocentric approach to annihilating the very thing. As the third episode of Apple TV’s Monsterverse series, Monarch: Legacy, continues the momentum initiated by the first two, viewers find themselves witnessing the timeless scenario of human intervention disrupting the course of natural events time and time again.
In the previous episodes, Cate, a survivor of the San Francisco G-Day event, went to Japan after her father’s demise or mysterious disappearance in order to check up on his belongings, but instead found that he had a secret family there. It is also revealed that Hiroshi is the son of explorers William Randa and Keiko Miura, who, along with their common friend, Lieutenant Lee Shaw, tried to scour the world in search of primeval Titans during the late 1950s,...
In the previous episodes, Cate, a survivor of the San Francisco G-Day event, went to Japan after her father’s demise or mysterious disappearance in order to check up on his belongings, but instead found that he had a secret family there. It is also revealed that Hiroshi is the son of explorers William Randa and Keiko Miura, who, along with their common friend, Lieutenant Lee Shaw, tried to scour the world in search of primeval Titans during the late 1950s,...
- 11/22/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is a monster television series created by Chris Black, who also developed the series with Matt Fraction. The Apple TV+ series is based on Godzilla and serves as the sixth installment in the MonsterVerse. It revolves around the members of an organization called Monarch and it spans over three generations and almost half a decade. The main story follows the events after Godzilla and MUTOs epic battle in 2015 that destroyed San Francisco.
The new Apple TV+ series will finally shed light on the mysterious Monarch organization, and with that, we will also see how humans reacted to the discovery of Titans and how they continue to react.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters – Episode Guide (When are the Episodes Coming Out?) Credit – Apple TV+
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters consists of ten episodes in total. The first two episodes are released on the same day November 17, with the rest...
The new Apple TV+ series will finally shed light on the mysterious Monarch organization, and with that, we will also see how humans reacted to the discovery of Titans and how they continue to react.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters – Episode Guide (When are the Episodes Coming Out?) Credit – Apple TV+
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters consists of ten episodes in total. The first two episodes are released on the same day November 17, with the rest...
- 11/20/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
In the first episode of Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, viewers were introduced to Lee Shaw circa 1959, back when he was an Army lieutenant tasked with “keeping alive” researchers Dr. Keiko Mira and Bill Randa (played by Mari Yamamoto and Anders Holm) as they go Muto hunting in Kazakhstan.
In that timeline, Lee is played by Wyatt Russell of TV’s Lodge 49 and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters: Grade the Premiere of Apple TV+'s 'Godzilla Series'In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Godzilla Is 'No Longer a Mystery But a Fact of Life' - Plus,...
In that timeline, Lee is played by Wyatt Russell of TV’s Lodge 49 and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters: Grade the Premiere of Apple TV+'s 'Godzilla Series'In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Godzilla Is 'No Longer a Mystery But a Fact of Life' - Plus,...
- 11/18/2023
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
This post contains spoilers for "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters."
Apple TV+ is getting into the kaiju business with the new Legendary MonsterVerse series "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," and we couldn't be more excited. The new show isn't the first TV series in the long-running Godzilla franchise, but it's the first big-budget live-action American show, and as such, it's got plenty to prove to fans of big creatures that love to stomp all over humankind.
The first two episodes of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" just dropped on the streamer, and while they're plenty intriguing on their own merits, they also tie directly into previous movies in the American saga that started with 2014's "Godzilla." That movie came out nearly a decade ago, though, and the multiple timelines and new cast members in "Monarch" mean even the most loyal fans will be downloading a lot of new information while trying to keep track of the old stuff.
Apple TV+ is getting into the kaiju business with the new Legendary MonsterVerse series "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," and we couldn't be more excited. The new show isn't the first TV series in the long-running Godzilla franchise, but it's the first big-budget live-action American show, and as such, it's got plenty to prove to fans of big creatures that love to stomp all over humankind.
The first two episodes of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" just dropped on the streamer, and while they're plenty intriguing on their own merits, they also tie directly into previous movies in the American saga that started with 2014's "Godzilla." That movie came out nearly a decade ago, though, and the multiple timelines and new cast members in "Monarch" mean even the most loyal fans will be downloading a lot of new information while trying to keep track of the old stuff.
- 11/18/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Apple TV+ on Friday unleashed Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, a live-action drama set in the same big-screen Monsterverse that Godzilla, Kong et al call home. After sampling the first of two episodes now streaming, will you keep watching?
Monarch: LoM (let’s make that shorthand happen, people!) opened with a “flashback” to Skull Island circa 1973, where we saw John Goodman’s Bill Randa film a message to an unnamed “buddy,” cryptically saying, “You may never forgive me for what I took from you,” but in the end, “you will realize it was all worth it.” Later, after being chased through...
Monarch: LoM (let’s make that shorthand happen, people!) opened with a “flashback” to Skull Island circa 1973, where we saw John Goodman’s Bill Randa film a message to an unnamed “buddy,” cryptically saying, “You may never forgive me for what I took from you,” but in the end, “you will realize it was all worth it.” Later, after being chased through...
- 11/17/2023
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Plot: Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, this series tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch. Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw, taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga – spanning three generations – reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.
Review: Believe it or not, we are four films and one television series into the MonsterVerse shared cinematic franchise. After two Godzilla films, Kong: Skull Island, a crossover blockbuster, and a pending sequel along with an animated Netflix series, the MonsterVerse has successfully teased the importance...
Review: Believe it or not, we are four films and one television series into the MonsterVerse shared cinematic franchise. After two Godzilla films, Kong: Skull Island, a crossover blockbuster, and a pending sequel along with an animated Netflix series, the MonsterVerse has successfully teased the importance...
- 11/17/2023
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
This article contains spoilers for Legendary’s “MonsterVerse” films.
Apple+‘s newest blockbuster series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, has now arrived to flesh out the larger than life “MonsterVerse.” Legacy Pictures has been building this shared universe filled with infamous kaiju ever since the reboot of Godzilla in 2014, and since, has given us all the classic monsters including Ghidora, Mothra, Rodan and of course, Kong.
Legacy of Monsters helps fill the little gaps in the periphery of the story, fleshing out the humans who choose to find, study, and often protect these massive creatures. At the center of it all has always been the imposing consortium known as “Monarch.” With all the giant-sized kaiju-chaos that can often be the most memorable moments of these monster movies, it’s understandable if Monarch shrinks in the presence of the true stars of the show. Not to worry, though, because we’re about...
Apple+‘s newest blockbuster series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, has now arrived to flesh out the larger than life “MonsterVerse.” Legacy Pictures has been building this shared universe filled with infamous kaiju ever since the reboot of Godzilla in 2014, and since, has given us all the classic monsters including Ghidora, Mothra, Rodan and of course, Kong.
Legacy of Monsters helps fill the little gaps in the periphery of the story, fleshing out the humans who choose to find, study, and often protect these massive creatures. At the center of it all has always been the imposing consortium known as “Monarch.” With all the giant-sized kaiju-chaos that can often be the most memorable moments of these monster movies, it’s understandable if Monarch shrinks in the presence of the true stars of the show. Not to worry, though, because we’re about...
- 11/17/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
In the studio-wide franchise business, episodic live-action TV series have taken center stage, replacing movies, and reasonably so, as not only does it provide the makers with more area to explore in the narrative and greater scope for characterization through a longer runtime, but it has also become a fan favorite medium in no time. Taking a cue from that, Legendary’s Monsterverse is the latest franchise to expand their arena through series, and the first step in that direction is Apple TV+’s latest release Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Revolving around Godzilla and other primordial behemoths known as Titans, their impact on the world populated by humans, and the role of secretive Titans tracking titular organizations in all this, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters spans generations worth of storytelling to uncover secrets about the world unknown. Monsterverse as a franchise was initiated with Gareth Edward’s much-acclaimed Godzilla (2014), which left its mark through a grounded,...
Revolving around Godzilla and other primordial behemoths known as Titans, their impact on the world populated by humans, and the role of secretive Titans tracking titular organizations in all this, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters spans generations worth of storytelling to uncover secrets about the world unknown. Monsterverse as a franchise was initiated with Gareth Edward’s much-acclaimed Godzilla (2014), which left its mark through a grounded,...
- 11/17/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
Wyatt Russell in ‘Monarch Legacy of Monsters’ episode 2 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Episode two slips into a time period that Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters didn’t visit in episode one and reveals how Lee, Keiko, and Bill met. The second episode also introduces Kurt Russell as the older version of Lee Shaw, played in the ‘50s by his son, Wyatt.
Episode two, “Departure,” begins with Lt. Lee Shaw in big trouble in Manila, circa 1952, after getting into a fistfight with his fellow soldiers. Lee claims the fight picked him, but it doesn’t matter. General Puckett (Christopher Heyerdahl) informs him of a new assignment: observing and protecting a Japanese scientist.
It’s dangerous – a man has already been lost – and Puckett warns Lee that he needs to take his new assignment seriously.
The scene switches to the Mindanao docks in the Philippines where Lee seems unable to...
Episode two slips into a time period that Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters didn’t visit in episode one and reveals how Lee, Keiko, and Bill met. The second episode also introduces Kurt Russell as the older version of Lee Shaw, played in the ‘50s by his son, Wyatt.
Episode two, “Departure,” begins with Lt. Lee Shaw in big trouble in Manila, circa 1952, after getting into a fistfight with his fellow soldiers. Lee claims the fight picked him, but it doesn’t matter. General Puckett (Christopher Heyerdahl) informs him of a new assignment: observing and protecting a Japanese scientist.
It’s dangerous – a man has already been lost – and Puckett warns Lee that he needs to take his new assignment seriously.
The scene switches to the Mindanao docks in the Philippines where Lee seems unable to...
- 11/17/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Anna Sawai in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ episode 1 (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)
Apple TV+’s incredibly entertaining Monarch: Legacy of Monsters takes a deep dive into Legendary’s Monsterverse and reveals the roots of the mysterious Monarch organization. Told over multiple timelines, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season one serves up ample helpings of the “monster” portion of Monsterverse while also doing a considerably better job of incorporating the human drama (with a sprinkling of humor) than the feature films have managed to pull off.
Episode one, streaming on November 17, 2023, opens with a flashback to Skull Island 1973. John Goodman’s Bill Randa from 2017’s Kong: Skull Island apologizes to the camera and reveals he’s leaving a legacy so that people will realize it’s all worth it.
Bill drops his camera as he flees a massive Mother Longlegs to the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. He removes a...
Apple TV+’s incredibly entertaining Monarch: Legacy of Monsters takes a deep dive into Legendary’s Monsterverse and reveals the roots of the mysterious Monarch organization. Told over multiple timelines, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season one serves up ample helpings of the “monster” portion of Monsterverse while also doing a considerably better job of incorporating the human drama (with a sprinkling of humor) than the feature films have managed to pull off.
Episode one, streaming on November 17, 2023, opens with a flashback to Skull Island 1973. John Goodman’s Bill Randa from 2017’s Kong: Skull Island apologizes to the camera and reveals he’s leaving a legacy so that people will realize it’s all worth it.
Bill drops his camera as he flees a massive Mother Longlegs to the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. He removes a...
- 11/17/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Godzilla may appear in the background of all the posters for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, but there’s very much a reason that his name doesn’t appear in the title. Rather than featuring wall-to-wall creature action, the Apple TV+ series—pointedly named for the kaiju-tracking organization that appears throughout the MonsterVerse films—mainly tells what is very much a human story. Focusing on people who must live in a world that now knows giant monsters lurk in its darkest corners, Monarch is a strong reminder of the human element that so many of the MonsterVerse films sorely lack.
Monarch’s story unfolds across two main timelines: one set in the 1950s that explores the founding of Monarch, and the other in 2015, where the world is still reeling from the first appearance of Godzilla in San Francisco, which has been termed “G-day.” The 2015 timeline opens on Cate (Anna Sawai), a schoolteacher and G-day survivor,...
Monarch’s story unfolds across two main timelines: one set in the 1950s that explores the founding of Monarch, and the other in 2015, where the world is still reeling from the first appearance of Godzilla in San Francisco, which has been termed “G-day.” The 2015 timeline opens on Cate (Anna Sawai), a schoolteacher and G-day survivor,...
- 11/17/2023
- by Steven Scaife
- Slant Magazine
“There’s a world down there, Cate…and it’s not ours.”
In 1933, King Kong was presented to the world as a beast living on the fictional Skull Island who became enchanted by the young Fay Wray. Since Kong’s debut and subsequent fall from The Empire State Building, movie and television audiences have been taken by the possibility of monsters living amongst us. Whether it’s the Loch Ness monster or Japan’s own Godzilla, these creatures have created a genre in filmmaking that’s exponentially increased in popularity in recent years.
Apple TV+ is getting into the Monsterverse game with their newest television series, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” premiering Friday, Nov. 17. Created by Chris Black and developed by Matt Fraction, the show continues the events of several monster movies of recent memory, like 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island” and 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong.” Unlike Disney+’s method of television...
In 1933, King Kong was presented to the world as a beast living on the fictional Skull Island who became enchanted by the young Fay Wray. Since Kong’s debut and subsequent fall from The Empire State Building, movie and television audiences have been taken by the possibility of monsters living amongst us. Whether it’s the Loch Ness monster or Japan’s own Godzilla, these creatures have created a genre in filmmaking that’s exponentially increased in popularity in recent years.
Apple TV+ is getting into the Monsterverse game with their newest television series, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” premiering Friday, Nov. 17. Created by Chris Black and developed by Matt Fraction, the show continues the events of several monster movies of recent memory, like 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island” and 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong.” Unlike Disney+’s method of television...
- 11/16/2023
- by Matthew Creith
- The Wrap
There’s a pretty amazing moment in the first episode of Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, in which Cate Randa, a former school teacher visiting Japan from the States, clocks airport signage for the “Godzilla Evacuation Route.” (See photo above.)
This comes just minutes after Cate and the other arriving passengers were sprayed, before deplaning, with an anti-parasitic decontaminant.
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This comes just minutes after Cate and the other arriving passengers were sprayed, before deplaning, with an anti-parasitic decontaminant.
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Review: Apple TV+'s Godzilla Series Offers Big-Budget Spectacle, With Human FlawsMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Sneak Peek: Curious Scientist Fails to Not Disturb Muto Eggs, Great Peril EnsuesFor All Mankind EPs Talk [Spoiler]'s Exit,...
- 11/16/2023
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Apple clearly isn’t shy about shelling out big bucks for its original series, and that generosity is on full display in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (premiering this Friday on Apple TV+), a grandly ambitious offshoot of the recent Godzilla film series that brings epic big-screen spectacle right into your living room. The monster effects here are absolutely eye-popping, but does the rest of the show live up to them?
After watching the first four episodes, my answer is: sort of.
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Sneak Peek: Curious Scientist Fails to Not Disturb Muto Eggs, Great Peril EnsuesFor...
After watching the first four episodes, my answer is: sort of.
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Sneak Peek: Curious Scientist Fails to Not Disturb Muto Eggs, Great Peril EnsuesFor...
- 11/14/2023
- by Dave Nemetz
- TVLine.com
A curious scientist fails to follow the cardinal rule of “Do Not Disturb the Eggs of Ominous Origin” in a spine-tingling sneak peek from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which itself hatches this Friday on Apple TV+.
Developed by Chris Black (Severance, Star Trek: Enterprise) and Matt Fraction (whose Hawkeye comics heavily influenced the Disney+ series of the same name), Monarch: LoM is set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and confirmed that monsters are real, in the 2014 Godzilla film.
More from TVLineGiancarlo Esposito Takes the Wheel in First Trailer for AMC's Parish -...
Developed by Chris Black (Severance, Star Trek: Enterprise) and Matt Fraction (whose Hawkeye comics heavily influenced the Disney+ series of the same name), Monarch: LoM is set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and confirmed that monsters are real, in the 2014 Godzilla film.
More from TVLineGiancarlo Esposito Takes the Wheel in First Trailer for AMC's Parish -...
- 11/13/2023
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Godzilla will return in upcoming Apple TV+ series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” from Legendary Television, a small screen expansion on the “MonsterVerse“ that’ll center on Godzilla and other Titans. Can’t wait? IGN debuts the opening scene this afternoon!
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” premieres November 17 on Apple TV+, and the 3-minute opening scene begins in 1973 with John Goodman reprising his role from Kong: Skull Island.
After Goodman’s Bill Randa survives a big ole monster fight, the series then jumps ahead in time to 2013, taking us into the Sea of Japan. Check out the full sequence below.
The highly anticipated sci-fi drama series will include 10-episodes. In the series…
“Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection...
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” premieres November 17 on Apple TV+, and the 3-minute opening scene begins in 1973 with John Goodman reprising his role from Kong: Skull Island.
After Goodman’s Bill Randa survives a big ole monster fight, the series then jumps ahead in time to 2013, taking us into the Sea of Japan. Check out the full sequence below.
The highly anticipated sci-fi drama series will include 10-episodes. In the series…
“Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection...
- 11/3/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
There are monsters among us.
On Friday, Apple debuted the first trailer for “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” the new 10-episode series that expands the so-called “Monsterverse” collection of films that includes “Godzilla” (2014), “Kong: Skull Island” (2017), and “Godzilla vs. Kong” (2021).
In a statement, executive producers Matt Shakman, Joby Harold, and Tory Tunnel said, “Over the last few years, we feel fortunate to have been able to work on a show that allowed us to embrace the scope and mythology of Legendary’s Monsterverse.”
They added, “Through 10 hours of character-driven television, our show explores the question of who the true monsters are in a world of coexistence with Titans. While at the same time taking us on a globetrotting adventure that will hopefully keep the audience as entertained as they are emotionally engaged.”
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” stars Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell, both of whom play the same character 50 years apart.
On Friday, Apple debuted the first trailer for “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” the new 10-episode series that expands the so-called “Monsterverse” collection of films that includes “Godzilla” (2014), “Kong: Skull Island” (2017), and “Godzilla vs. Kong” (2021).
In a statement, executive producers Matt Shakman, Joby Harold, and Tory Tunnel said, “Over the last few years, we feel fortunate to have been able to work on a show that allowed us to embrace the scope and mythology of Legendary’s Monsterverse.”
They added, “Through 10 hours of character-driven television, our show explores the question of who the true monsters are in a world of coexistence with Titans. While at the same time taking us on a globetrotting adventure that will hopefully keep the audience as entertained as they are emotionally engaged.”
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” stars Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell, both of whom play the same character 50 years apart.
- 9/8/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Godzilla is back. And this time the iconic monster, who has been a mainstay of popular culture since his debut in 1954, is headed to uncharted territory: a live-action streaming series.
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is set to debut globally on Apple TV+ on Nov. 17. And the trailer has just dropped. Watch it above.
“Monarch” takes place within the already established MonsterVerse that began with 2014’s “Godzilla” and is still ongoing (next year sees the release of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”). The new show is set over several timelines, using the Monarch monster-chasing organization as the show’s main focus.
Both Kurt and Wyatt Russell play Lee Shaw, a Monarch member whose exploits in the 1950s will threaten the organization today. Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski also star, with at least a guest appearance by John Goodman, who played...
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is set to debut globally on Apple TV+ on Nov. 17. And the trailer has just dropped. Watch it above.
“Monarch” takes place within the already established MonsterVerse that began with 2014’s “Godzilla” and is still ongoing (next year sees the release of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”). The new show is set over several timelines, using the Monarch monster-chasing organization as the show’s main focus.
Both Kurt and Wyatt Russell play Lee Shaw, a Monarch member whose exploits in the 1950s will threaten the organization today. Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski also star, with at least a guest appearance by John Goodman, who played...
- 9/8/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
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