The MonsterVerse is finally taking its first big step into a full multimedia universe as it debuts its first live-action TV series. Titled Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the upcoming Apple TV+ series dropped its first trailer today, revealing a show that looks as big-budget as the films it is spinning off of.
A direct sequel to the events of Gareth Edward’s 2014 Godzilla, which launched Legendary’s MonsterVerse, the trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters gives us a taste of both the monster-filled action to come and people running from said action. You can watch the footage, which was released by Apple TV+ on YouTube, below.
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A 10-episode series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is functioning as both a sequel to Godzilla and a prequel to the entire MonsterVerse franchise, much like Kong Skull: Island. The show focuses on both the aftermath of Godzilla’s destructive battle with the Titans in San Francisco and the founding of Monarch, the secretive organization that has been tracking and researching kaiju for decades. Monarch is the plot thread that runs through all the MonsterVerse films, and it’s finally going to be teased out through this series. The story revolves around to siblings who track down one of the earliest members of Monarch, Army Officer Lee Shaw, and begin uncovering buried secrets of the organization.
Shaw will be played by Kurt Russell and instead of using fancy technology to de-age him for the flashbacks, his son Wyatt Russell will play the same character in the past. That will hopefully leave more CGI budget for making sure Godzilla looks as awesome as possible. Joining the father-and-son duo are Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski, with John Goodman returning as William Randa. Co-developed and executive-produced by Chris Black and Matt Fraction, the first two episodes of the series will be directed by Matt Shakman.
If you’re slightly confused by all the Godzilla going on and where it’s coming from that’s entirely fair. Since Legendary doesn’t have its own streaming service, the MonsterVerse is not at home on just one. Netflix debuted its animated prequel series, Skull Island, this past June. Meanwhile, Toho, the Japanese production company behind Godzilla, is set to release their own updated version of Godzilla called Godzilla Minus One this December. That’s not to be confused with the next film in the MonsterVerse universe, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. So, yeah, there’s a lot of Godzilla coming from a lot of different places.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will land on Nov. 17 on Apple TV+ with two episodes dropping. From there, it will release a new episode weekly until Jan. 12.
