Godzilla and Kurt Russell on Apple TV+
The Godzilla show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stars Kurt Russell, Anna Sawai, and more
New show digs up secrets that links a family to Japan’s giant radioactive monster.
A new streaming TV show expands the epic story told through recent Godzilla and King Kong movies.
In this story:
What is the show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters about?
Godzilla has made a huge impact on popular culture
Kurt Russell is in some of my favorite movies
Starting on November 17, the epic streaming show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters follows siblings who are struggling to uncover their family’s connection to the mysterious scientific organization Monarch. This expands on the story told so far through the movies Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).
Streaming on Apple TV+, the series is produced by Legendary Television, Safehouse Pictures, and Toho Co., Ltd.
The series will star father and son Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell playing the same character in different eras. Wyatt will play the younger version of Army officer Lee Shaw, while his dad Kurt will pick up the role a half-century later in the story.
Kurt Russell, by the way, has starred in some of my favorite movies. (More on those below).
Wyatt Russell starred as the fake Captain America in the cool TV show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He will return as that character in the upcoming Thunderbolts movie.
What is the show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters about?
On the Monarch series, the epic story is expected to span three generations, as it investigates the organization from these particular Godzilla movies. (More about Godzilla’s history below.)
The official description from Apple TV+:
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.
Monarch’s 10-episode first season will also star Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski. Watch the trailer below!
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters — Official Teaser | Apple TV+
Godzilla has made a huge impact on popular culture
The giant monster Godzilla is known as the “King of the Monsters,” being the lead character of one of the longest-running series in the history of movies. He first showed up like 70 years ago, and has been in like 40 movies ever since, on top of appearances in TV shows, video games, comic books (as well as being referenced or parodied in other media).
One of the Godzilla franchise’s powers is that the various projects—including movies, TV shows, comics, and more—have a different emphasis or even come from a different genre. In fact, Godzilla himself can change directions from being the hero to being the bad guy or even fitting somewhere in the middle.
My favorite Godzilla movies include Gojira (1954), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), and the Hollywood movies Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).
The newest Godzilla movies are the Toho film Godzilla Minus One (2023) and the MonsterVerse follow-up Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (2024).
Godzilla has also appeared in lots of comic books—but the one I really want to call out is his run as a licensed character in the Marvel Comics series Godzilla: King of the Monsters. During that fun comic book, Godzilla crossed paths with S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and more. It was cool.
Further reading: 25 Monsters Who Are Marvel Superheroes
Kurt Russell is in some of my favorite movies
Starting as a child actor, legendary actor Kurt Russell has appeared in a bunch of classic TV shows and movies. He has even starred in lots of my favorite movies, from the sci-fi comedy Dexter Riley movies for Disney (1969-1975), to movies like Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), and Big Trouble in Little China (1986) with director John Carpenter, to comedies like Used Cars (1980) and Overboard (1987) and the superhero school movie Sky High (2005).
I also loved him in the sci-fi action movie Soldier (1988). That, by the way, was originally intended to be part of the Blade Runner universe. (We talk more about that here.)
He was a great choice for the living planet Ego in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). He repeated the character in the multiverse TV show What If…? (2021).
Russell was also in the original Stargate movie in 1994 (which led the way to several TV shows). He has even been in more than one movie in the Fast & Furious franchise. And he played Santa Claus in The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020).
Further reading: Flashback: John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ (1982) inspired a generation of filmmakers
Further reading online
Godzilla News: 'Monarch' Series, 'Godzilla Minus One' and More (Cosmic Circus)
Best Japanese Godzilla Movies For Beginners (Game Rant)
Apple TV+'s GODZILLA Series Gets A Title And An Official Synopsis (FANGORIA)
Godzilla Minus One Image Reveals Best Look Yet at the King of the Monsters' Return (CBR)
Why Does the Apple TV Plus Godzilla Series Look So Good? (IGN)
Godzilla TV Show: Everything We Know About Apple's MonsterVerse Series (Screen Rant)
Every Godzilla Era, Ranked, Including The MonsterVerse (Yahoo News UK)
5 Reasons Why The MonsterVerse Is The Best Shared Universe We Currently Have (Cinemablend)
John Barry’s score for the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis remake of King Kong gave the controversial film an emotional weight that is impossible to miss.