Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stars Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Mari Yamamoto, Wyatt Russell, and Kurt Russell. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters takes place after the events of Godzilla (2014) and follows the foundation of the Monarch Organization and the world’s response after the events of Godzilla, also known as G-Day.
With the start of Godzilla (2014) , the King of Monsters has now made a resurgence in Hollywood, and rebranded a new monsterverse franchise that has fans excited for the future. As of now, we have seen Godzilla battle it out with iconic monsters such as King Ghidorah, King Kong, and Cyber Godzilla. However, even with all of the incredible battles, the biggest question on everyone’s mind is….. what is Monarch? Who are they? What do they have to do with Godzilla? Well…maybe not on everyone’s mind and maybe not the biggest question but still you have to wonder how this organization came to be. This series was able to deliver a spectacular answer performed by a talented cast with a story that continues to keep us engaged week by week.
It is a very challenging and daunting task to create a series about the humans in the MonsterVerse that keeps the audience thoroughly entertained. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters created two stories to follow: the founding of Monarch with Lee, Bill, and Keiko and Monarch’s current state following Cate, May, and Kentaro. It’s such a creative idea to have both Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell playing the younger and older version of Lee. Neither one skipped a beat and remained consistent with the character’s mannerisms and traits. Each of the trios had great chemistry between each other that pushed the story forward.
Creating a limited series within a film’s universe is not unheard of for a major movie franchise but what this series does better than most, is establish the necessity of it.
Minor Spoilers Ahead
I was always kind of lost when watching Godzilla vs. Kong on how Hollow Earth was founded, the way it worked, and how we suddenly discovered Kong and the rest of the titans. Godzilla (2014) and Kong: Skull Island felt as if they were standalone films, and they never truly connected with one another. This series goes in depth on the discovery of the theories of Titan World while also planting little easter eggs that we will recognize from the films. At its core, this movie is about human stories and relationships which made me appreciate this franchise even more.
