Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Image
Caption	First season poster
Showrunner	Chris Black
Starring	Anna Sawai Kiersey Clemons Ren Watabe Mari Yamamoto Anders Holm Joe Tippett Wyatt Russell Kurt Russell Elisa Lasowski
Music	Leopold Ross
Country	United States
Language	English
Num Seasons	1
Num Episodes	10
Executive Producer	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
Producer	Brian Rogers Yoshimitsu Banno Kenji Okuhira Scott Schofield Al Letson
Cinematography	Jean Philippe Gossart Chris Seager Sam McCurdy
Editor	Nona Khodai Emily Streetz Joe Talbot Hall Mark Hartzell
Runtime	41–50 minutes
Company	Safehouse Pictures Toho Milkfed Criminal Masterminds Chris Black Broadcasting System Legendary Television
Network	Apple TV+
First Aired	2023-11-17
Last Aired	2024-01-12
Network2	Apple TV

Premise

In 2015, one year after the re-emergence of Godzilla, half-siblings Cate and Kentaro Randa investigate their missing father Hiroshi's connection to Monarch, the covert organization monitoring giant monsters known as Titans or MUTOs ("Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms".) Two generations earlier, Bill Randa and Keiko Miura are scientists involved with the early development of Monarch. Former Army officer Lee Shaw becomes a close ally to the Randa family across both time periods.

Cast and characters

Main

• Anna Sawai as Cate Randa: A San Francisco schoolteacher coping with PTSD whose search for her missing father leads her to uncover his involvement with Monarch.
• Kiersey Clemons as May Olowe-Hewitt: A former employee of Applied Experimental Technologies (later Apex Cybernetics) who fled to Japan under an alias after discovering that her company was using her code for nefarious purposes. Her real name is later revealed as Corah Mateo.
• Ren Watabe as Kentaro Randa: An artist and Cate's half-brother who joins her on a journey to find their mysterious father.
• Mari Yamamoto as Keiko Miura: A scientist who investigates monsters with Lee Shaw and Bill Randa in the 1950s.
• Anders Holm as Bill Randa: A cryptozoologist who becomes a leading researcher for Monarch.
• John Goodman as an older Bill Randa, reprising his role from Kong: Skull Island (2017)
• Joe Tippett as Tim: An overzealous Monarch office worker who goes into the field to track down the organization's lost documents.
• Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell as Lee Shaw: A former U.S. Army colonel who joins Keiko and Bill in their investigations of monsters and subsequently becomes involved with Monarch. Kurt portrays the older version of Shaw, encountered by Cate and Kentaro, while Wyatt plays the younger version, responsible for founding Monarch.
• Elisa Lasowski as Michelle Duvall: The sister of the late Sandra Brody and a skilled Monarch operative partnered with Tim.

Recurring

• Takehiro Hira as Hiroshi Randa, Keiko's son, Bill's stepson, and Cate and Kentaro's father.
• Qyoko Kudo as Emiko Randa, Kentaro's mother
• Christopher Heyerdahl as General Puckett, Shaw's superior officer
• Mirelly Taylor as Natalia Verdugo, the deputy director of Monarch
• Amber Midthunder as Isabel (season 2), a businesswoman

Guest

• Tamlyn Tomita as Caroline Randa, Cate's mother
• Bruce Baek as Du-Ho, Shaw's old friend and an ally
• Jess Salgueiro as Dr. Barnes, a Monarch researcher
• Dominique Tipper as Brenda Holland, a former executive at Applied Experimental Technologies (later Apex Cybernetics)
• Morgan Dudley as Lyra Mateo, May's sister
• Matthew MacCaull as Lieutenant Hatch
• Curtiss Cook (season 2)
• Cliff Curtis (season 2)
• Camilo Jiménez Varón (season 2)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2023–24)

Season 2

Production

Development

Following the success of Godzilla vs. Kong, discussions commenced on ways that the MonsterVerse could be expanded beyond feature films. Legendary proposed a live-action series, and among the potential investors, Apple TV+ expressed immediate interest, negotiated a deal, and green-lit the series in January 2022. It is a joint venture between Legendary Television, Safehouse Pictures, and Toho, although Warner Bros. still owns the rights for the MonsterVerse franchise alongside Legendary. Chris Black is creator and showrunner.

In May, Matt Shakman was hired to direct the first two episodes in addition to executive producing. In addition to Black and Matt Fraction, writers include Andrew Colville, Milla Bell-Hart, Amanda Overton, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Mariko Tamaki, and Al Letson. On April 11, 2024, Apple TV+ renewed the series for a second season, with several spinoffs in development.

Casting

In June 2022, Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski were cast. In July, Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell were cast, and Mari Yamamoto joined in August. In September, Anders Holm was cast and revealed the title. In September 2023, the teaser trailer revealed John Goodman to reprise his role from Kong: Skull Island (2017) as William "Bill" Randa.

Filming

In July 2022, it was revealed that principal photography had commenced in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Two weeks of filming occurred in Japan in August.

Filming for the second season was underway by July 31, 2024, and wrapped by February 20, 2025.

Music

In October 2023, Leopold Ross was confirmed as score composer. The soundtrack was released online by Milan Records on November 17, 2023, with the main titles track released on November 3 as a single.

Release

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premiered on Apple TV+ on November 17, 2023. The second season is scheduled to premiere on Apple TV on February 27, 2026.

Marketing

In August 2023, Apple released first look images, now officially titled Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The teaser and more images were released on September 8, 2023. The first trailer debuted at the 2023 New York Comic Con, and the official poster was revealed. In October 2023, a viral marketing website called "Monarch Unlocked" was launched with some Monarch computer private files.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 87% based on 87 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's consensus reads, "With performances by father–son duo Kurt and Wyatt Russell that work a charm, Monarch adds a welcome wrinkle to the Godzilla legacy by honing its monstrous scope to a very human level." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Mike Hale of The New York Times commended the straightforward narrative and visual effects, and noted that Kurt Russell's presence gave it a "nostalgic charm". In Variety, Aramide Tinubu wrote that the series "will likely satisfy the most novice MonsterVerse explorer".

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico praised the performances of Kurt and Wyatt Russell, but he expressed dissatisfaction with the writing, describing the characters as "underdeveloped", the plot as lacking depth, and the dialogue as too lengthy.

Accolades

Spin-off

On November 27, 2025, Apple TV reportedly greenlit a prequel series set during the Cold War with Wyatt Russell reprising his role as young Lee Shaw and serving as an executive producer. Joby Harold was reported to serve as showrunner and executive produce with his wife and producing partner Tory Tunnell through their production company Safehouse Pictures.

Notes

References

External links

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Rotten Tomatoes