The Big Picture
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is one of Apple’s most ambitious projects, and it’s part of the expansive “Monsterverse” that includes films like Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island.
- The series features two actors, Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell, playing the same character in different time periods, which director Matt Shakman finds exciting to see play out.
- Kurt Russell’s presence in the Monsterverse and his pairing with Godzilla feels like a perfect fit, and the casting of Wyatt Russell as the younger version of the same character was serendipitous.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will arrive on Apple TV+ next month, and it’s one of the biggest and most ambitious projects that Apple has taken on to date, or, in fact, any streamer has. A follow-up to the 2014 film Godzilla, which was helmed by director Gareth Edwards, the series picks up right after the epic showdown between Godzilla and the Titans that left San Francisco in ruins. Monarch is poised to be an integral part of Legendary’s expansive “Monsterverse,” which also encompasses cinematic hits like Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, and the highly anticipated Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, slated for release on April 12, 2024.
Prior to Monarch: Legacy of Monster‘s highly-anticipated panel at New York Comic Con this week, Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with one of the show’s directors, Matt Shakman, about a wide variety of topics—including the series’ casting choices. Monarch sees the character of Lee Shaw dually cast, as the series is split between two time periods, focusing on the shady organization Monarch, where Shaw was tasked with studying the Titans in the wake of the 1950s emergence of Godzilla, all the way through to the present day.
Kurt and Wyatt Russell star as Shaw, with Wyatt playing Shaw as a young man who joins Monarch in its infancy, and Kurt playing the present-day Shaw attempting to apply the knowledge he gained in the 1950s when Monarch was first founded, to study Godzilla and the presence of other Titans. The father-and-son pair has been linked with roles in that dynamic before, but the casting of the two as the same character is a distinctly intriguing prospect, Shakman explained.
A Pair of Russells
“Certainly, we discussed two different actors. I think that’s the usual approach to things,” said Shakman. “But we had this idea that Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell, who are often, I think, offered things as father and son, but I don’t think they’d ever been offered the same part to play in two different time periods. It just felt like, “What an amazing idea,” and it’s so rare. I mean, two actors who are extraordinary on their own, two actors who bear an uncanny resemblance to each other because they’re father and son playing the same part, just felt like an idea that we had to run wholeheartedly at, and they were excited to do it.” He expanded by adding that Kurt Russell was a perfect fit for the Monsterverse, as well as being one of his favorite actors. As an American cinematic icon, pairing him with Godzilla—a legendary figure in movies—it was a match made in heaven, according to Shakman.
“Also, it’s such a unique fit because Kurt Russell stars in all the movies I love, and since I was a kid, I’ve been watching him on screen. The idea of Kurt Russell plus Godzilla just feels absolutely, 100% right. He occupies the same awesome space. Then the fact that Wyatt could work so beautifully as the young version of that same character, it just was serendipity, you know, things that we couldn’t have planned that the fates made possible for us.”
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters hits Apple TV+ on November 17. Catch the official teaser for the eagerly awaited series, and see your latest glimpse of Godzilla, down below.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
