Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was better than it had any right to be, and better than many people expected. Audiences liked it, more than critics in fact. It did good numbers for Apple TV+.
Set in 2015, one year after the re-emergence of Godzilla, it told the story of half-siblings Cate and Kentaro Randa investigating their missing father Hiroshi’s connection to Monarch, the covert organization monitoring giant monsters known as Titans or MUTOs. (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism).
Two generations earlier, in the 1950s, 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.
The first season ended with clear embedding back into the Legendary Monsterverse, and several plot threads dangling. Given the numbers, of course, a second season was coming.
Now, Legendary Entertainment has begun production on that season in Queensland, Australia, and in the process has declared it the biggest series ever to be shot there. Kong: Skull Island and the two Godzilla vs. Kong movies were also shot there.
The series will star Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski. Expect more time-split monster shenanigans so Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell may well be back in the shared role of Lee Shaw.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premiered on Apple TV+ on November 17, 2023, but the second season is unlikely to hit screens until 2025.