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Read up on Apple’s tremendous Godzilla series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

• Charles Pulliam-Moore

  Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ new titans were inspired by the weird, freakiness of nature

  Image: Apple TV Plus

  Though Godzilla looms very large in Apple TV Plus’ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, it isn’t the only gargantuan kaiju whose presence keeps the series’ human characters living in a constant state of fear. Along with the big man itself, and many other classic Toho creatures, Legacy of Monsters also introduces a number of original titans to Legendary’s quickly expanding MonsterVerse franchise.

  With Monarch both digging into the MonsterVerse’s unexplored history and building to what’s coming next on the big screen, the show’s creative team knew that it was going to have to think outside of the box to come up with all-new beasts that would wow viewers. When I spoke with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters VFX supervisor Sean Konrad recently, he explained that the trickiest thing about dreaming up new kaiju for the small screen and then building massive set pieces around them is actually figuring out how to allocate the necessary resources over the course of an entire season.

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• Dec 29, 2023

  Alex Cranz

  The best shows on Apple TV Plus in 2023

  The Verge / Image courtesy of Apple TV

  We’re four years into the existence of Apple TV Plus, and the network still feels like it’s punching above its weight class. It doesn’t have nearly the expansive library of its competitors, but the shows (and occasional film) it does have are really, really good —usually.

  I’ve heard friends compare it to HBO in the 2000s, and that feels like an apt comparison. There are plenty of great movies, but there’s also an astonishingly well-programmed group of TV shows that seem to speak to a very wide audience, from its core group of science fiction shows like For All Mankind and Foundation to its more outlandish fair like Schmigadoon! and The Morning Show.

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• Nov 17, 2023

  Charles Pulliam-Moore

  The creators of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters aren’t just trying to make a Godzilla spinoff show

  Image: Apple

  Epic monster fights, dazzling visuals, and the promise of an interconnected MonsterVerse are the things that have attracted audiences to many of Legendary and Warner Bros.’ recent Godzilla movies. All of those things are very much a part of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Apple TV Plus’ new series set in the MonsterVerse from executive producers Chris Black and Matt Fraction and director / co-executive producer Matt Shakman.

  But whereas films like Godzilla: King of the Monstersand Godzilla vs. Kongwere all about putting the spotlight on their titular Titans, Legacy of Monsters is a deep, multigenerational dive into the lives of ordinary people — the kind whose personal stories just wouldn’t fit into the confines of your average kaiju disaster movie.

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• Oct 13, 2023

  Charles Pulliam-Moore

  Godzilla’s got some new friends in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ latest trailer

  Aside from one depiction of Godzilla, the very first trailer for Apple TV Plus’ upcoming Monarch: Legacy of MonstersMonsterVerse series was surprisingly light on kaiju appearances. But Apple’s latest ad for the show puts more than a few of its titular monsters front and center, and — delightfully — each one looks either sick and / or terrifying as hell.

  Aside from old man Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell), no one seems to fully understand what kind of organization Monarch is and why they’re so interested in massive unidentified terrestrial organisms (MUTOs) in the new trailer. But many people, like Cate (Anna Sawai), know that Monarch was there during Godzilla’s attack on San Francisco and that it’s hiding secrets from the public that would change the world if they were ever to get out.

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• Oct 13, 2023

  Charles Pulliam-Moore

  Apple’s new Godzilla series crushes its biggest challenge

  Anna Sawai as Cate in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.Image: Apple TV Plus

  Though some of Legendary Pictures’ recent Godzilla-focused projects have been gorgeous sights, they’ve also been so narratively wobbly that it was hard to imagine Apple getting in on the MonsterVerse action with a new live-action series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters from executive producers Chris Black and Matt Fraction. After multiple movies in which titanic beasts had to fight their human co-stars for precious screen time, the idea of a time-jumping show digging into the military’s secret history involving kaiju didn’t exactly spark excitement.

  But as improbable as it sounds, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ focus on individual people spurred to action by the emergence of Godzilla and his fellow Titans is exactly what makes the show a surprise delight — one that feels like it has potential to be both a proper hit for Apple TV Plus and a strong step forward for the MonsterVerse franchise as a whole.

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• Sep 8, 2023

  Jess Weatherbed

  Godzilla returns in Apple’s first trailer for the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters TV series

  You’re never too old to enjoy watching giant monsters having a punch-up.

  Apple TV Plus has released its first trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, a 10-episode series based on Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise that features iconic kaiju-like Godzilla, King Kong, and King Ghidorah. The first two episodes will be released globally to the streaming platform on November 17th, followed by a single episode each week until January 12th.

  The trailer itself doesn’t give much away regarding what else we can expect. There are a few snippets of Bill Randa (played by John Goodman) who featured in Kong: Skull Island (2017), flashes of various giant beasties, and of course, an ominous soundscape underpinning shots of all the glorious destruction they’ve likely caused. If, like me, you’re a Monsterverse fan because you just love watching giant creatures battling like apocalyptic pokémon, then it’s looking pretty promising so far.

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• Aug 17, 2023

  Andrew Webster

  Apple shows off a first look at its Godzilla series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

  Image: Apple

  Last year, Apple announced that it was working with Legendary on a streaming series that would be part of the company’s Monsterverse, i.e., the revival of King Kong and Godzilla in a live-action universe. And while we still don’t have a trailer or premiere date, we at least now have a first look and some details on the kaiju show.

  It’s called Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and the 10-episode series appears to take place after the 2014 Godzilla film left San Francisco in a disastrous state as well as in the 1950s following the early days of the mysterious Monarch group. In a fun twist, the show will feature a military officer named Lee Shaw across both time periods, and Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell will play Shaw at different ages. Here’s the full setup:

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• Jan 20, 2022

  Charles Pulliam-Moore

  Godzilla and the Titans will reunite in new Apple TV Plus Monsterverse series

  

  Legendary Pictures

  Though Legendary’s Godzilla vs. Kongmade waves last summer by debuting on HBO Max and quickly becoming one of the platform’s top performing features, the next time we see the titanic monster and his fellow kaiju, they’ll be calling new streamer home: Apple Plus.

  On Thursday, Apple Plus announced that it has greenlit a new live-action series set in Legendary’s Monsterverse from co-creators Chris Black (Star Trek: Enterprise) and Matt Fraction, writer of Marvel’s Hawkeyerun that the recent Disney Plus series heavily draws from. Along with Black and Fraction, Toho’s Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita and Safe House Pictures’ Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell are set to executive produce.

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