Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (TV 2023-2024)

Monsterverse television series
← Skull Island	Monarch: Legacy of Monsters	None →

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Air date November 17, 2023-January 12, 2024 Directed by Matt Shakman et al. Producer(s) Chris Black, Matt Fraction, et al. Written by Chris Black, Matt Fraction, et al. Music by Leopold Ross Production company Legendary Television Channel(s) Apple TV+ Rating TV-14 Genre(s) Drama, science fiction, action, adventure Episodes 10

	This article concerns an upcoming subject, and will be updated with new information as it arises.

“	Some secrets cannot be contained	„
	— Tagline

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (モナーク：レガシー・オブ・モンスターズ,   Monāku: Regashī obu Monsutāzu) is an upcoming television miniseries produced by Legendary Television which will premiere exclusively on the Apple TV+ streaming service on November 17, 2023. It is the second television series to be set in the Monsterverse, after Netflix's animated series Skull Island released earlier in the same year, and takes place between the events of the films Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). Following members of the organization Monarch as they encounter Godzilla and other Titans over the span of a half century, the series will star Kurt and Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski.

Descriptions

“

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 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 (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), 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.

„

“

After surviving Godzilla’s attack on San Francisco, Cate is shaken yet again by a shocking secret. Amid monstrous threats, she embarks on a globetrotting adventure to learn the truth about her family—and the mysterious organization known as Monarch.

„

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Air date
1	"Aftermath"	Matt Shakman	Chris Black	November 17, 2023
2	TBA		TBA
3	TBA	TBA	Andrew Colville	TBA
4	TBA	TBA	Milla Bell-Hart	TBA
5	TBA	TBA	Amanda Overton	TBA
6	TBA	TBA	Karl Taro Greenfeld	TBA
7	TBA	TBA	Mariko Tamaki	TBA
8	TBA	TBA	Al Letson	TBA
9	TBA	TBA	Matt Fraction	TBA
10	TBA	TBA	Chris Black	January 12, 2024

Development

The series was announced by Apple on January 20, 2022. Produced by Legendary Television with executive production from co-creators Chris Black and Matt Fraction, Safehouse Pictures, and Toho, it will be set after the events of 2014's Godzilla.

Four days later on January 24, Charles Murphy of Murphy's Multiverse reported that the series had been given the title "Hourglass" and was scheduled to begin production that May. This proved true with the release of issue 1283 of Production Weekly on January 27, which confirmed its working title as Hourglass as well as its planned production period. The publication also revealed additional producers and Chris Black and Matt Fraction's role as writers, among other staff. Issue 1286 of Production Weekly, released on February 17, confirmed that the series would be shooting in Vancouver, Tokyo, and Hawaii, and gave a new title of "Monarch".

On April 14, issue #1294 of Production Weekly reported Matt Shakman as director. On May 5, issue #1297 reported that Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell were rumored for the roles of "Old Lee Shaw" and "Young Lee Shaw," respectively. Variety reported on May 19 that Shakman would only be directing the series' first two episodes as well as executive producing. Production Weekly dropped the Monarch title with issue #1305 on June 30, instead switching to "Godzilla and the Titans." The same issue reported Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski as cast members; Deadline corroborated this the same day, though it maintained that the series was still untitled.

Variety confirmed Kurt and Wyatt Russell's casting on July 20, though their roles were not specified. On August 18, Deadline reported that Mari Yamamoto had also joined the cast. On October 3, Variety announced that Anders Holm had joined.

On November 13, writer and executive producer Matt Fraction spoke briefly about the series in a post for his and Kelly Sue DeConnick's subscription newsletter Milkfed Dispatches, revealing the show to be 10 episodes long. Between February 7 and 8 of 2023, Collider and ComicBook.com reported on interviews both had conducted with Shakman. In the former interview, he stated the show to be in post-production and that it will have "some overlap" with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, though "it's not as involved as, say, an MCU kind of Disney+ film crossover. It's less organized than that." In the latter, he revealed that the series will involve "a lot of cool Titans and monsters, some new, some old."

On February 23, trademarks were filed for "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" by Legend IP Holdings Production, LLC. The title was announced officially that August 17, along with the series' projected release window.

Production

The series filmed in Vancouver, Tokyo, and Hawaii. A shooting period was initially set for between May 9 and November 16, 2022, with the British Columbia unit to begin on May 26 and conclude on October 18. However, the BC unit's shooting period was later moved back to between July 6 and December 19. The BC unit's wrap date was then moved up to December 14 and again to December 9, with shooting finally beginning on June 27. Shooting in Hawaii was set to begin that December.

By January 7, 2023, principal photography on the series had concluded and it had entered post-production.

Marketing

Four stills from the show were released on August 17, 2023, two of which appear to take place during Godzilla's battle with the U.S. military at the Golden Gate Bridge in Godzilla (2014). A short video released on September 7 preceded the release of a teaser on September 8, which revealed that John Goodman would be returning to the Monsterverse as Bill Randa and offered glimpses of two new monsters and a Mother Longlegs.

A poster was revealed exclusively on the r/Monsterverse subreddit on October 9. A panel for the show was held at the New York Comic Con, with a screening of the first episode on October 12. The same day, the MonarchSciences Twitter account originally created to promote Kong: Skull Island began tweeting again; however, the account was "taken over" by a mysterious third party. Later the same day, a trailer for the show was released, showcasing several new monsters and characters, and a new viral marketing website named Monarch Unlocked was made available, featuring a video message by Bill Randa and several photos. On October 24, the site was updated with an additional video from Randa titled "Randa_Super8.mp4."

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

• Directed by   Matt Shakman (episodes 1-2)
• Developed by   Chris Black, Matt Fraction
• Written by   Chris Black, Andrew Colville, Milla Bell-Hart, Amanda Overton, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Mariko Tamaki, Al Letson, Matt Fraction
• Executive producers   Thomas Tull, Hiro Matsuoka, Takemasa Arita, Max Borenstein, Brad Van Arragon, Andy Goddard, Andrew Colville, Matt Fraction, Matt Shakman, Tory Tunnell, Joby Harold, Chris Black
• Co-executive producers   Amanda Overton, Milla Bell-Hart
• Produced by   Brian Rogers, Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira
• Consulting producers   Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields, Bob Ducsay
• Music by   Leopold Ross
• Cinematography by   Jess Hall
• Edited by   Nona Khodai
• Production design by   Caroline Hanania
• Visual effects supervisor   Sean Konrad

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

• Kurt Russell   as   Lee Shaw
• Anna Sawai   as   Cate Randa
• Kiersey Clemons   as   May Olowe-Hewitt
• Ren Watabe   as   Kentaro
• Wyatt Russell   as   young Lee Shaw
• Mari Yamamoto   as   Keiko Randa
• John Goodman   as   Bill Randa
• Anders Holm   as   young Bill Randa
• Joe Tippett   as   Tim
• Elisa Lasowski   as   Duvall

Appearances

Titans and superspecies Godzilla (GareGoji) Mother Longlegs Mantleclaw Endoswarmer Horned flying MUTO Quadrupedal tundra MUTO Skullcrawler (carcass) Miscellaneous Bigfoot (computer screen)

Weapons, vehicles, races, and organizations Monarch

Alternate titles

• Hourglass (working title)
• Monarch (proposed title)
• Godzilla and the Titans (proposed title)

In other languages

Language Name Meaning Japanese モナーク：レガシー・オブ・モンスターズ,   Monāku: Regashī obu Monsutāzu Transliteration of English title Chinese Cantonese 君主組織與神秘巨獸,   Jūnzhǔ Zǔzhī yǔ Shénmì Jùshòu The Monarch Organization and the Mysterious Beasts Mandarin 君主計畫：神祕組織與怪獸之謎,   Jūnzhǔ Jìhuà: Shénmì Zǔzhī yǔ Guàishòu zhī Mí Project Monarch: The Puzzle of the Mysterious Organization and Monsters Korean 모나크: 레거시 오브 몬스터즈,   Monakeu: Legeosi obeu Monseuteojeu Transliteration of English title Spanish Latin America Monarch: legado de monstruos Translation of English title Spain Monarch: el legado de los monstruos

Gallery

Production

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Screenshots

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  Cate and Godzilla (episode 1)

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  Lee Shaw (episode 1)

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  Cate (episode 2)

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  Lee Shaw (episode 3)

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  Bill Randa and Keiko (episode 3)

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  Duvall and Tim (episode 5)

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  Kentaro and May (episode 8)

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  Lee Shaw in Alaska

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  Young Lee Shaw

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  Bill Randa

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• Monarch Legacy of Monsters teaser 12.png
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Promotional

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  New York Comic Con

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  New York

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  New York

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Internet

Titles

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  Japanese

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  Brazilian

Monarch Unlocked

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Miscellaneous

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  Apple TV's YouTube channel banner

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  Brazilian announcement confirming a Monarch: Legacy of Monsters panel at CCXP23*

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  Brazilian announcement confirming Chris Black's presence at the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters panel at CCXP23*

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  Brazilian announcement confirming Tory Tunnell's presence at the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters panel at CCXP23*

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  Brazilian announcement confirming Joby Harold's presence at the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters panel at CCXP23*

Videos

Opening title sequence Teaser trailer Trailer "An Inside Look" Exclusive opening scene Clip "topsecret.mp4" "Randa_Super8.mp4" "Philippines, '52" "Bikini Atoll, '54" Soundtrack - Main Titles Monarch: Legacy of Monsters billboards in Los Angeles New York Comic Con panel

Trivia

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the first Godzilla television series to not feature Godzilla's name in its title.
• This will be the first live action Godzilla television series in over two decades, following Godzilla TV (1999-2000). Godziban (2019-2023), while live action, is not televised.
  • It will also be the first live action Godzilla TV series to be story-driven since Godzilla Island (1997-1998) 26 years prior, and the first American Godzilla series of any kind since Godzilla: The Series (1998-2000) 25 years prior.
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the first major installment in the Monsterverse to feature Godzilla's GareGoji design since Godzilla (2014), outside of stock footage. However, the trailer and promotional materials for the series also show a Godzilla design which appears to be the DougheGoji.
• A Monarch insider named Shaw previously appeared in the 2014 Monsterverse graphic novel Godzilla: Awakening. It is not yet clear whether Lee Shaw is intended to be the same character.
• A Godzilla render used in media tied in with Godzilla vs. Kong appears in a prohibited sign seen in Tokyo.

External links

• Monarch Unlocked
• Apple TV+ streaming page
• Apple TV+ Press listing

References

This is a list of references for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

Bibliography

• ""MONARCH" (w/t "HOURGLASS") Series / Apple TV+". Production Weekly. No. 1286. Production Weekly. 17 February 2022.
• ""MONARCH" (w/t "HOURGLASS") Series / Apple TV+". Production Weekly. No. 1287. Production Weekly. 24 February 2022.
• ""UNTITLED GODZILLA AND TITANS PROJECT" (w/t "HOURGLASS") Series / Apple TV+". Production Weekly. No. 1283. Production Weekly. 27 January 2022.
• ""MONARCH" Series / Apple TV+". Production Weekly. No. 1294. Production Weekly. 14 April 2022.
• ""GODZILLA AND THE TITANS" Series / Apple TV+". Production Weekly. No. 1305. Production Weekly. 30 June 2022.
• ""MONARCH" Series / Apple TV+". Production Weekly. No. 1289. Production Weekly. 10 March 2022.
• ""GODZILLA AND THE TITANS" Series / Apple TV+". Production Weekly. No. 1306. Production Weekly. 7 July 2022.

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